Cursed
by S. A. Morley
Summary: Nicole Zareck knew something was wrong with Shadow, and she was more than determined to find it out. Despite warnings from Sonic, she digs deeper, desperate to know what it was about the enigmatic guy. Little does she realize that the price for knowing his closely-guarded secret could be her life.
1. Bitter Welcomes to Artemis

**I know I should be finishing up Cirque Du Freak, but I just had to do this one. It'll be snappy, don't worry. Yes, Arcon Fallon Dekker is in this one (he's the coolest bad guy, I couldn't leave him out). Also a few other OC's that ForensicHistory15 and I have come up with. Hope you guys like it! Chapter one of: Cursed.**

_Summer camp. _What a stupid concept.

The property made up of happiness looms menacingly outside of the tinted car window, my name practically printed on it. It called to me with its joyous siren. Why? _Why?_ _WHY?_

I turned and glared at Uncle Chuck. "You're the devil."

He grinned feebly beneath his mechanical mustache. "Hey, Shadow, you're the one who was rated as clinically depressed and lethally dangerous by the doctors."

I grunted, holding back from baring my teeth at him. "But you _know the reason why!_ It wasn't my fault! I don't have to be imprisoned here!" I jabbed my thumb at the signboard above the high, thick, wooden gates. "I don't belong to the sunshine and daisies community!"

He sighed, pointing to the painted label. "Artemis' Camp for Troubled Teens. That's where you're going. No more excuses, young man."

"But-"

"I didn't pay nine hundred and fifty dollars for you to chicken out before you even stepped foot on that perfectly mown grass, Robotnik!" Sudden fierceness struck the robot's tone. His red, computerized eyes were flashing with anger. "Either you go in there by yourself, or I'm dragging you!"

Charles must've forgotten the passenger in the back seat of the Camaro. Sonic had a saddened look on his face as he watched his uncle and I argue. "Hey Chuck... maybe we could ask for a refund... Shadow doesn't _have _to go-"

"Shut up, Maurice Theodore Diago!" he snapped at his nephew, who recoiled. Sonic hated being called by his full (and actual) name. I chuckled inside. What a goofy title Jules and Bernadette (his parents) had given him. I was glad my name was as suave as Shadow.

But then again...

I also had another name.

One that I was deeply ashamed of.

I looked back to Charles. "Isn't it already bad enough that I almost got arrested?"

"Ah, ah, ah, Shadow. You _were _arrested. They just tasered you," he corrected. "I'm sure you still feel the tingling?"

I brushed the right side of my neck, where a small, protrudent bump was present. After I touched the fur, prickling flooded my fingertips, and I dropped my hand into my lap. I clenched my fist, flashes of the police and many handgun explosions playing in my head. "Yes."

"Well, you can tell the landlord that when we go to his office, all right?" Uncle Chuck shut off the Camaro and opened the car door, stepping out into the brilliant sunshine. "Come on."

I gave Sonic a pitifully desperate stare. "Please help me. I'll do anything!" I pleaded to him.

He frowned, patting my shoulder. "Send me lots of emails, k?"

I glowered. "Gee, bro, you're quite the help." He smiled smally.

The passenger door opened, Uncle Chuck standing in front of it. "Well? Let's go, kid. Time's a wasting."

I moaned to myself, reluctantly getting out of the shiny blue vehicle and onto the pavement. I was handed my duffel bag, which contained my clothes and other things I would need for the summer. It was very lightweight. And I felt very unprepared.

The walk to the main building felt more like a death march to me. Every peppy director or counselor that gave me a happy smile, I scowled at with as much menace as I could muster. My hand was so tight around the duffel's strap that my fingers started to ache.

Uncle Chuck and I entered the chill halls, posters of grinning faces and encouraging statements plastered on every inch of the wooden walls. I coughed a few times at the saw dust that swirled around in some places. _Why _would they think of building this place out of _wood? _Again, stupid concept.

Chuck guided me down the grainy corridor, opening the door for me at the main office. Once inside, I noticed the main desk was solely occupied by a gorgeous young cat. She had a shining purple fur and long, snow white, curled hair. Bangs that swished across her forehead were tipped with magenta streaks. Only a single lock of her hair - which hung over her copper eyes - was dark brown. Two types of earrings were pierced in her large ears: gold chains of ringlets, and silver streamers. Her skin was pale on her face, and bangles of different colors coated her violet, furry arms. She was scowling at a computer screen, typing away furiously and muttering something under her voice.

My escort approached the desk. He cleared his throat. "Excuse me, um..." She ignored him as his eyes trailed down to a tag on her black shirt. "Fiѐt," - her eyes flickered up to him the moment he said her name - "this is Shadow Robotnik, he's a new guest here at Artemis' C-"

"Yes, I know," she interrupted flatly, that scowl remaining on her beautiful face. "You called me two days ago. Are you wanting to see the landlord?"

Taken aback, Chuck nodded slowly. "Yes, ma'am. Do we need to make an appointment?"

"No," Fiѐt replied, still typing, while not looking at the computer she sat in front of. "He knows you're here. Mr. Dekker _never_ loses track of new guests here at Artemis. Is it immediate that you must see him now?"

"Yes. We were asked to get Shadow here as quickly as possible. Is this Mr. Dekker available?"

A surprisingly dark smile spread across her stunning features. Her gaze switched to me, and she stood up. "He always is. Follow me, boys."

Uncle Chuck pushed me forward gently, following Fiѐt as she gracefully walked to the back of the small room. I noted then that the office was plainly decorated, almost barren. The heavy ebony door to the end of the place was sitting under the cover of an overhead wood banister, with stairs spiraling upward and out of sight. She stopped at the door, waiting for us in the darkness. Her eyes glowed.

"He is inside. If you have any questions after you see him, talk to me." She stood with her hands clasped behind her, her posture flawless, and her purple legs together and feet fanned outward. She wore silver stilettos, and a short black skirt. Her face was emotionless.

"Thank you, Fiѐt. You have been a great help," Chuck acknowledged her, allowing me to open the door and step in first.

She thrust her arm out to stop my Uncle in his tracks. "Before you speak to me again, sir, be sure to pronounce my name right. It is Fy_-ae_, not Fy_-et."_ I chuckled at his stupidity. He nodded briskly, smiling nervously and looking embarrassed. "Thank you, Mr. _Die-ay-go._" She critically sounded out his name for him.

Fiѐt then let him go past, leaving the robot feeling idiotic. We both quickly entered the landlord's office, only to find it empty. Confused, I looked back to Chuck, raising a brow and making a displeased face. He shrugged as her silky voice said from behind him, "Go ahead and sit down. He won't be long." The door shut with a hushed bang as were left isolated in the vacant room.

I glanced around, finding the walls to be a warm brown, with potted trees in two opposing corners. There was a large mahogany desk in one side of the room, covered with neatly stacked papers and a mug full of capped pens and sharpened pencils. A table lamp stood above an open folder, with documents laid out for reading. The cushy, black leather seat at the desk was empty, and facing two wood made chairs that were just as comfortable looking. Two large bookcases that were overflowing with books lined the wall facing the leather chair's back, and were reaching the low ceiling. It smelled pleasant in here, though I couldn't quite name the scent.

After taking an inventory of almost everything, Chuck and I sat down at the pair of seats. It was a little awkward finding someplace to put my duffel, but we managed to squeeze it in between us. We sat in silence for only a minute before the door quietly opened, a teenager walking in.

I was shocked. As he strode in, I inspected him. He was dressed in a long, thin, pitch black overcoat, which reached his booted ankles, and was stitched with dozens of buckles. His mane of shaggy, coaled hair was hanging loosely over his electric blue eye. I was staggered that his right eye was missing, a leather eyepatch hiding it. His fur was slate gray, and a long tail with spikes protruding from its tip signified to me that he was a cat. He walked in, smiled - his coat collar was so high that it nearly covered his mouth - and approached us.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen," he said softly in a matured voice. "I apologize that Mr. Dekker couldn't be here, he was dealing with some out of control inmates."

I gulped. _Inmates?_

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Armaros, I will be filling in for Mr. Dekker momentarily. Now, should we get started?" He sat down across from Chuck and I, clasping his fingers and looking at us closely.

"I am guessing this is Shadow Robotnik, then?" Armaros glanced to me, then Uncle Chuck. "And you are his legal guardian, I presume?"

"Yes," the robot agreed. "I am a little apprehensive about what he will be doing here. Anything I should know?"

Armaros chuckled darkly, something I only heard. "Mr. Diago, Shadow is positively safe here. Don't worry about him. He will be guarded twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and monitored by his counselor. The counselor will ensure that he behaves, and that his needs are attended to." I internally groaned. A counselor? Great. Someone else to interrogate me. "She is very nice and thoughtful. You have nothing to worry about with Nicole by his side."

"What kind of people will he be around?" Chuck inquired.

"Addicts, alcoholics, criminals, psychotics, and more or less suicidal teens. To be frank."

Charles' face was absolutely blank. _"W-what?"_

"It is all taken care of, as I have said before. Nothing will happen to him." An awkward pause followed. "About his lodging," Armaros continued, unfazed. "he will be staying in a dorm by himself in the hall B, room sixty. His key is his own and nobody else's. He has a shower, bed, and desk to himself. He cannot have a cell phone, a computer, or any type of messaging device with him. Those that are brought will be confiscated immediately at the welcoming committee. MP3 players and iPods are allowed. He can do his own laundry, socialize as he pleases, and participate in the various activities we have planned for the kids. Harassment is strictly prohibited. Any fights that are started, there will be consequences to physical or emotional harm dealt to the other person." After seeing our open-mouthed faces, Armaros added, "That was a gist of the rules. I would go on, but we have a schedule to keep to."

That was a lot of rules! All of that... for one summer... Well, I could make it without a phone, nobody really called me except for Sonic. My laptop would be something I would miss, though. It was comforting when I wrote things, and all of my writing was on there. I sighed, fumbling with a loose string on the bottom hem of my shirt. This wasn't going well, as I knew it would be. At least he hadn't asked me why I ended up locked in this wooden happy-prison. One pro to this conversation.

Chuck was going through the information in his mind. "All right, Armaros. So he'll be safe, he won't be tormented, and no communication to the outside world?"

Armaros nodded cooly, saying, "Absolutely. Of course, he won't have to care about anybody outside of Artemis. He'll be too preoccupied here to notice _them._ Now," he abruptly stood, ending the discussion. "We must get Shadow to his room to become acquainted with his new way of living. Lunch should be served soon, and he needs to meet Nicole. What better way to get to know each other than over a meal?"

My uncle stuttered. "Uh... yes. I suppose that works. Um..." He turned to me as we got to our feet as well. "Shadow... I'm sorry, you know."

"For this? You should be," I stated nonchalantly.

He weakly smiled. "Take care of yourself, okay?" He leaned close to my ear. "And make sure... you keep a close watch on...that..." Trailing off, I understood what he meant.

"Yeah... Can do, Chuck."

He pulled back and frowned, putting a metal hand on my shoulder. "H-have a nice summer, Shadow Robotnik. Make the most of things, you are his son after all."

"What, that doctor?" I snorted, remembering Gerald's face. "He only joyed in science. I'm not here for science. I'm here for twisted rehab."

"But when you get back, we're using that science to deal with the problem." Charles clapped my shoulder a few times, looking to Armaros, who was standing patiently. "All right. He's ready."

The grey hedgehog smiled again. "Splendid. Get your bag, Shadow, and come with me. Mr. Diago, you can head home now, I can take it from here." He walked steadily to the door, where he opened it wide for us.

We said nothing as I clenched the duffel in my hand, following Chuck to and past Armaros. He closed the door behind us to Mr. Dekker's room on the way out, and we strolled past Fiѐt, who paid us no heed at all. Then we left the main office and bade goodbye to Charles at the door. I watched him grow smaller and smaller as he walked to the blue Camaro, speeding away on the freeway and leaving me stranded. I sighed heavily.

Armaros turned to me. "Follow me to your room, if you wish, Shadow the Hedgehog." He swiveled around on his heel and started down the hall, his footsteps silent on the polished birch floor. I darted after him, speeding up with the help of my jet shoes. I flew across the flooring and almost slammed into him, but luckily slowed down and was able to walk with him at his calm pace.

"I do hope you will enjoy your stay here, Shadow. Mostly everyone does. After all, we're all like family here." His voice was eerie as he said that.

I shuddered. "Yeah... a really freaky, psycho family..." I muttered, his ears pricking up and his shoulders shaking as he laughed. It was a tad disturbing, his laughter. I shuddered once more.

"Well, I'll give you a compact tour if you'd like. Here on your right is the main plaza, where each hall meets." Armaros pointed to his right; an enormous, circle shaped room with nine other corridor openings shooting from its edges. Everything here, was wooden. "The halls A through J are in those many exits at the plaza, indicated with the letter above them. We are in C hall right now, heading towards B." As I marveled, he looked back at me, his left eye scrutinizing me. "Come on, we must go through the main plaza if we wish to go to your room."

I kept up with Armaros as he switched his direction suddenly, striding through the groups of teenagers without a stare. I however, was spotlighted by every pair of eyes, whispers floating around the now pin-drop quiet plaza. I felt exposed. Severely.

"Who's that?"

"He the new kid?"

"Waddya think he's in for?"

"He's cute!"

"You gonna ask him?"

"You first!"

I flushed red with embarrassment and hurried after Armaros without drawing anymore attention to myself... if that was possible.

_What's the matter? Don't you like attention?_ said a voice in the back of my mind.

I bit my tongue and locked my jaw. _You're enough for me._

Amused laughter dissolved into my thoughts as I was randomly stopped, someone's sweat shirted arm in front of me. I snapped back into my senses, looking towards whoever was keeping me from progressing.

The boy was sneering at me with deep blue eyes. I sized him up: scrawny, a maroon-furred coyote with hardly a tail to show off, baggy clothes, and a lip stud. Even with a mild sneer, I could tell it was permanently glued onto his face as a mixture of each facial expression he had. This creep was backed up with two thickset thugs that were snarling. One a heavy built albatross with green feathers and golden eyes, the other a muscular echidna with the classic mahogany dreadlocks, intertwined with spikes and torn wrapping. His eyes were light brown, and emanating evil. The both of them were dressed with grungy clothing such as torn jeans and worn out hoodies.

"So this is the infamous Shadow the Hedgehog? He's a tiny thing, ain't he, Gregory?" the coyote scoffed, his hulking albatross friend nodding.

Anger sparked, something that was uncontrollable with me. I kept my voice down, trying to ease the buzzing feeling that was building up in my head. "I'm not as small as you think," I hissed through my teeth.

"Oh-ho ho? Are we now?" the coyote smirked, teeth marvelously white for someone of his appearance. "I've seen what you can do, but after looking at you now, I'm doubting what those reports said. Did you _really _kick an overgrown lizard's butt to kingdom come? Or plummet down to planet Earth and survive?" I stared at him, holding back my fury.

"I'm not even sure that human broad was worth your time, Shadow. What was her name? Mary? Meredith? Oh right. Maria. That ugly human was just another life taken by you and your black heart, huh? I'm surprised you dealt with her for all that time you did."

Did he just insult Maria? In front of _me?_

_Come on, come on... Give it your best shot, kid._

I bit my lip this time, the moment my teeth touching it, blood seeped from the bite. My teeth were sharper. My blood tasted good. _Oh no...!_

I took a few steps back, by now the whole plaza watching our conflict. I held my head, beginning to shake and lose a bit of awareness. My surroundings were flooded with blur, only returning to focus when I blinked. I clenched my teeth, breathing as evenly as possible to calm myself down.

The coyote and his buddies seemed to get a kick out of my reaction, and gained expressions of mischief. The thin one's eyes sparkled with malice as he spoke up again.

"Uh-oh, boys... I think we hurt his feelings! Did I forget to mention that that Gerald dude was a wacked up freak with pathetic dreams of catching someone's shadow? And his abomination is standing right before us, a pathetic, shivering _loser_ who's in a camp for teens with issues. No wonder he's here! The scientist was a raving _lunatic!_ You're nothing but a failed science project!" The three of them burst into laughter.

_Oh YES!_

I hunched over, shivering and wincing audibly. The vibrating in my skull transformed immediately into splitting pain, which caused me to moan aloud. I felt the bones in my body begin to ache, and my thoughts went numb as a cruel smile spread onto my mouth.

I stood crookedly, watching the trio of foolish idiots with ferocity. "Don't - you _ever _- insult the Robotnik family in front of me!" My voice had lowered considerably, and I jabbed a finger at their startled faces. _"You will pay dearly for the actions!"_

I was intervened by Armaros, who showed up out of nowhere. Shooting him a dissatisfactory glance, he grabbed me firmly by the scruff of the neck and thwacked me hard on the back of the head with a fist.

"Ow! What was that for?" I shouted, a whooshing echoing in my ears. He seemed amazed for some reason.

Armaros didn't respond, but skimmed the crowds of teens with slitted eye. "You three!" he hollered to the coyote, albatross, and echidna. "If I catch you picking a fight with anyone else, you're going to be punished!"

"Who could possibly hurt us worse than you?" the echidna asked mockingly, tilting his dreadlocked head to the side.

Armaors sneered. "Arcon."

The atmosphere became bleak, and the three goons went stiff. Armaros, smirking something nasty, turned to face the horde of kids. "Everyone! Lunch! Go!" He pointed towards the hall labeled F, and all of them obeyed, filing into the corridor with shuffles of feet and hushed conversations.

Once everyone cleared, Armaros stared at me. "You, come with me."

Picking up my duffel, I obliged.

**I edited some stuff around from the original. Wahoo for editing! :D**


	2. The Counselor

**Forgive some typos or reused words in this chapter. I'm getting a little tired! :P**

**Anyway, enjoy. (this is a bit of an update; just editing)  
**

Armaros led me down the halls much faster after that incident in the plaza. He didn't say a word, but stepped quickly, his coat billowing around his boots. I followed, keeping quiet as well and trying to slow down my heart. That was... weird... If I saw that kid again, he would suffer. Agonizingly.

Along the way, we passed one of the faculty, who gave me a curious stare. I knew he was part of the staff because he didn't wear ragged clothing. He was a pale hedgehog, with blood red eyes, black fur, and short cropped hair. The tips of his dark ears were vermillion, as were the ends of his quills and his abnormally long tail. He wore a grey, long sleeved, hooded shirt and jeans, with casual shoes and a circular pendant on his neck that was shaped like an eye. The iris was red, and the white was black. After looking at him, I thought he was older, till I realized that he couldn't have been even in his twenties. He was about my age. Seventeen.

Armaros gave him a quick nod as we went by. "Blitz," he said curtly.

Blitz didn't respond, only continued on his way and folded his arms mutely. We rounded the corner shortly after.

Walking near a wide window in the next hall, I looked out. Beyond the glass was a great patio of wood, which surrounded an enormous pool of water. Sunshine glistened on the crystal blue waves, a group of Artemis inmates soaking up the sun and enjoying the water. One of the guys pushed his friend into the pool, only to be dragged downward by the ankle and resulting in a playful splash fight. I frowned to myself. I used to be that carefree. Then _it _happened. Her face flashed in my mind, I doing my best to keep her out of it.

Her. That wretched woman hooked on my demise. She had planned each of my problems out from the beginning, itching for the day when I would be close enough to put them into effect. All the people I'd hurt... those who have grieved... Hyman... why had he done this to me? Why had _she_ plagued my existence further?

I decided to leave those thoughts for later, because Armaros stopped. I did the same, watching the door we stood in front of. He turned to me, holding out a brass key and gesturing towards the keyhole. Sighing almost silently, I took it and unlocked the door, opening it and walking inside.

The room was surprisingly nice, but small. The walls were a light wood, there was a bright window, and soft carpet. A bed with cream colored sheets and pillows sat in the center, with two side tables, a lamp and alarm clock on one; the other held books. An oak wardrobe was across from the bed, empty and ready for stocking. The tile began in the next chamber, which was the bathroom. The door was half hidden in the corner, where I could see the shower and sink within it.

"Will this be to your liking?" Armaros asked, making me jump. I looked to him, completely still and an expression of everlasting serenity on his pallid face. He looked like a statue with a brilliant blue eye.

I nodded. "Yeah."

"All right. Once you are through settling in, go to the lunch hall. In corridor F. Nicole will meet you there." Without another word, he exited, closing the door to my room and leaving me alone.

Needing no other orders, I plopped my duffel bag onto the bed, unzipping it and taking out a few shirts. I had about twenty outfits I could wear, even more with combining the mix-matching shorts and tees. I had brought a jacket, though I wasn't sure I needed it in this hot weather, some flip flops, and a few pairs of jeans. I kept my regular rocket shoes on, along with the Rings on my wrists and ankles. Those were my life source. If they came off, shortly I would die from lack of energy pulsing into me. That had nearly happened on several occasions, of which each of them sucked terribly.

I grabbed a few hangers and hung up my clothes, which didn't take too long. I neatly folded my pants (I'm an organized hedgehog) on the bottom of the wardrobe, a miniature pile forming by the end of my unpacking session.

I left my iPod in my pocket, wanting direly to lay back and listen to music. But my stomach protested, leaving me hurrying to finish up so I could catch something to eat.

I checked the clock. 12:32 PM.

Nearly throwing my toiletries into the bathroom, I kicked my flat duffel under the bed, throwing open the door and locking it behind me in a rush. Then I slid the key with my iPod, tucking it under the ear bud wires wrapped around the device. I casually walked down the hallway of B and remembered the room number sixty, wanting to make sure I didn't get lost on my first day here.

Retracing my steps, I found the main plaza again, which was almost deserted, save for the janitor. The grizzled tortoise gave me a smile, which I returned politely and turned into the F hall, hearing the babble of numerous voices from the lunch room.

My stomach growled as I smelled something delicious. Speeding up, I walked into the doorway of the lunch room and sighed. Dozens of kids of different species were here, all at their tables, merrily socializing over their food. I noticed that the lines weren't very long, and that the posters on the walls were of healthy choices to have at each meal. Such as, milk, vegetables, fruits, grains, and that kind of stuff. A food pyramid was displayed above the serving counter, huge and flashing "eating smart".

With another rumble from my abdomen, I slowly made my way towards the a la carte booth, where lasagna and broccoli were being served in small cardboard trays. I was looking forward to the chocolate milk that came with, seeing as I haven't had one of those in a few years. Getting to the back of the short line, I waited.

I tuned out the noisy talking, while looking over the multitude of heads for any faces I recognized. There was nobody that I knew, except for the trouble making gangsters from minutes before. I grumbled to myself the many different punishings I could bestow upon the cocky coyote, but disregarded the impulses, knowing they were wrong and dangerous to think about. Crossing my arms and leaning on one foot, I stood apathetically behind a purple canary with a ridiculous mohawk.

I felt someone approach. "Hey, are you... Shadow Robotnik?"

Whirling around, I came face to face with a girl. She was thin and very pretty, with peachy skin, waist length thickly braided golden hair, and glimmering cerulean eyes. Her fur was a light gray, and she was wearing a tan v-neck jacket and blue denims. Her eyelashes were lengthy, and her smile was sweet as she patiently waited for me to respond.

"Uh-huh," was all I could muster while I recovered from gawking. No girls usually appealed to me, but this one... she was something else. I felt a little silly. "Who wants to know?"

She giggled, a bell like sound that lightened my spirits. "Me. I'm Nicole Zareck, your counselor."

So _this _was Nicole. I smiled. "Oh! Well, good to meet you, miss Zareck," I said kindly, thrusting out a hand. She took it and we shook them.

_You dolt._

_Shut up._

"Waiting for lunch?" Nicole asked.

I nodded. "Yep. This line's a bit slow."

"Well, when you're at Artemis, they're so much good food to choose from; you have a hard time picking what you want." She pointed up the line to a guy who was struggling between two lasagnas with varying cheeses. Finally, after a few moments, he decided on one, and the holdup inched forward. "See what I mean?"

I grinned. "Yeah."

"So, Shadow," Nicole mentioned after a moments pause, looking me in the eye. "How'd you end up here?"

"What?" _Oh crap._

"What did you do for your parents to send you here? Or as we call it, what crime did you commit?"

"Uh..." I uttered, feeling hot suddenly. Turning away, I in relief outburst: "Hey look! We're next!" Marching up to the a la carte counter, I snatched the first square of lasagna I saw, grabbing a bowl of broccoli and a carton of chocolate milk as well. Then I set them onto my tray and took off to a vacant table, leaving my counselor behind.

Sitting down, I held my face in my hand, groaning. I was starting to doubt my happiness with Nicole being my constant companion. An inquisitive, constant companion. Ugh. Who knew how much she could learn? The situation didn't look promising.

Soon she showed up, her expression flabbergasted. "What was that?"

I shrugged, opening my milk pack and taking a swig. Maybe if I stayed aloof to her questions, I would avoid spilling my secret. I didn't want to even think about that night. Much less discuss it with a stranger I hardly knew.

"You don't want to talk about it?" she pressed, taking her seat across from me and raising a brow.

I shook my head. "No."

"W-why not?" she wondered in confusion. "It's good to get things off your chest, Shadow! Keeping them bottled up isn't a good way to deal with your problems, you know."

I rolled my eyes. "I know that."

"Then why won't you say anything about it? C'mon, you can tell me! I'm your counselor, we're supposed to ask these questions. I'm supposed to help you recover!"

_"You _can help _me?_ That's a bluff. That's a big bluff, Nicole," I said, reaching for my fork, only to grab empty table. I searched for utensils, coming up short on anything. In my sprint to evade debating my nightmare of an evening, I had forgotten to even get silverware. Chuckling inside, I got up. "I'm gonna get a fork. Be right back."

I watched Nicole make a pouty face in the edge of my vision as I left our table, heading towards the boxes that contained forks, spoons, and knives. I got a knife and fork, then slowly returned to my table, trying to take the longest time I could. Someone bumped into my shoulder on my way back, not bothering to apologize. Maria would have labeled that as rude.

I sat myself down again, finding Nicole to be chewing her lasagna with morose. She was also reading the side of her milk container, which didn't interest her much, so she took her eyes off it and rested them on me instead. Looking down, I cut the corner of my own three cheese lasagna, stabbed the piece I cut off, and ate it. Pretty decent quality, for a summer camp. I kept on eating, ignoring the broccoli tub completely. I hated that vegetable.

"You're not going to tell me?" Nicole asked flatly.

I shook my head. "Never."

She grunted and violently shoved her fork into a shoot of broccoli, nibbling the tree top head of the veggie and scowling. Once she swallowed, she said acidly, "Then how am I going to help you if I don't know what the problem is?"

I smirked, watching her. "Give me compliments, support me, believe in me..." I knitted my fingers together and looked at her over them. "I could go on, but judging by how piqued you are, I won't."

She clenched her jaw, giving me a dull glare and resuming eating her lunch.

I laughed softly, knowing I had won.

_I could have assisted. I am an expert at manipulation-_

_Butt out._

A shiver ran up my spine as a whoosh of cold air came from the side, chilling me.

"I see we are bonding," said a cool, charmed voice.

Nicole and I both looked up to Armaros, who had appeared next to our table. His cloak seemed to be smoke... or were my eyes just playing tricks on me?

"As much as we can," Nicole muttered unhappily. I crookedly smiled at her with the corner of my mouth. "without knowing much about each other."

"Hmm..." Armaros mumbled, taking a seat next to me. "Is there a problem, miss Zareck?"

As Nicole opened her mouth, I kicked her hard in the shin. She winced, shook her head, and said with teeth clamped shut: "Nothing I can't handle." She sneaked a threatening glower at me while Armaros was focused on my milk carton.

"What's this?" he asked rhetorically, picking it up and gazing at the side panel with absorption. "A Family's Sorrow?"

"What?" I asked incredulously.

"It's a news article. I read it. It's depressing," Nicole said, offering me her empty milk cartridge.

I refused it, gripping my chair. "I don't like reading those kinds of things."

"Well, there's one thing I know about you," she said simply, looking deeply at me. "Now I've just got to find out more."

That last sentence was in an undertone. "Good luck, Zareck," I replied callously, ignoring the murmured studying of Armaros and focusing on the flavors in the lasagna. Cheese, meat, pasta, sauce, oregano, milk, and a faint hint of something I didn't recognize. Classic lasagna dish with a twist. It was satisfying, and almost eaten all the way.

"What a sad state this family is going through. I can only imagine their pain..." Armaros said thoughtfully, setting my milk back onto my tray. He seemed lost in ponder.

"I know, isn't it? Losing a daughter. It's worse because she was their only child," Nicole added mournfully, frowning prominently and resting her cheek on her palm.

He nodded. "Indeed it is." I took a glance toward the carton's side.

I broke out in a sweat at the family name.

Barnes. Where did I know that from? My sight fuzzed out.

_Amelia Barnes._

_Murdered in an alleyway._

_Her flesh torn from her body and her blood painting the ground-_

"Shadow, are you all right?" Nicole was waving her hand in front of my nose, looking concerned. "You blanked out for a sec."

I vigorously nodded and blinked furiously. "Yeah! Yeah, I'm fine!" Swallowing, I rubbed my eyes, trying to keep my head straight. "I'm okay. Don't worry."

Armaros gently grabbed my head and twisted it towards him. He carefully inspected my face, squinting with his one eye. "You look pale. Are you feeling ill?"

I was about to say no, when nausea overcame me. Slowly doubling over and shoving my tray away from me, I set my forehead down onto the table and attempted to hold myself clear of vomiting. I suddenly felt like I needed to throw up, my stomach churning and the blunt buzzing beginning to take over my skull. My eyes began to close.

"What's wrong with him, Armaros?"

"I'm not sure. Let's take him to Cassiopeia just to be safe. Help me with him..." He stood and ducked under my left arm, lifting me from my seat with superior strength. Nicole copied him on my other side, making sure my right arm was draped across her shoulders. "Easy with him, Nicole. Not too fast," he reminded tenderly.

I felt gazes on me as we traversed through the lunch room. A few shocked gasps and several chairs pulling out were the only noises I heard beside the heavy droning in my ears. A booming thud of a pulse was also playing part in the gloomy sounds I solely could listen to, but it wasn't coming from my heart, it was from... my neck?

_What is this?_

"Unh..." I whispered hoarsely as we exited the lunch room, traveling the halls as quickly as Armaros would allow. Nicole was holding me up firmly, but Armaros had an iron shoulder. He never faltered, even when we were jostling down the corridors of Camp.

We turned in the main plaza to the passage D, increasing our pace to a jog. Their footfalls pattered in sync with the pounding of my pulse. I was struggling to maintain consciousness, along with a sense of non-queasiness. Armaros reassured me almost every time I grunted or moaned, "Stay with us, Shadow. You'll be all right. We're taking you to Artemis' nurse. She'll help you recover."

They had a nurse here?

"He looks worse..." Nicole groused in worry.

Armaros glanced to me, his shocking blue eye hardening. My head was nodding forward, my body starting to twinge painfully. My surroundings blurred, again, and as before, the ripping flare of agony wreaked havoc upon my head, worse this time. I cried out, going rigid and breathing rapidly.

"He won't make it to Cassiopeia," Armaros said swiftly, watching me still, but speaking to Nicole. "unless we hurry."

"Okay." She complied and they broke into a brisk run. "Is this good?"

"Faster!"

The three of us bolted down D hall, passing doors and windows rapidly. I was getting dizzy, which didn't aid with my already bilious feelings. They seemed to not mind me or their speed. "How are you keeping up, Robotnik? Okay?" Armaros asked.

"I th-think so..." I responded, voice scratchy.

Skidding around a corner, we slowed to a stop. Nicole reached out to the knob, turned it, and swung the nurse's door open for us to hobble in. Once inside, the nurse turned around and gasped. "Oh my!"

She was a young tiger, around twenty or twenty-one. Her fur was oddly orange, and she was covered in blue stripes. She possessed a long, curled tail and white scrubs. The sandals she wore were hand-woven, and her light turquoise eyes went wide when she saw us come in. He flowing, brown hair bounced behind her as she ran towards us, fret coating her face. "What happened to this poor boy?"

"We don't know. One moment, he's healthy, then the next he looks like this," Nicole stated, placing her delicate hand onto my white tufted chest, pushing me higher onto their shoulders. "Can you help him, Cassiopeia?"

"Of course I can. Lay him on the bed, please." She pointed towards a stretcher and darted off to a door within the office.

Armaros and Nicole laid me down, stepping away immediately. "Ellick! Come here, we've got someone you can work on!" Cassiopeia shouted through the doorframe.

"Sorry, sis. I, uh, can't... right now... Having some trouble with my you-know-whats..." a man replied with a sonorous voice from somewhere beyond the little room we were in.

"Those antlers again?" she sighed, turning away from the door and facing our trio. "Anyhow, let's run a few diagnostics on the boy to decipher if he has any diseases." She took a popsicle stick between her fingers, a thermometer, and a stethoscope. "If you will kindly open your mouth, Shadow the Hedgehog..."

_Groan._


	3. Watch Your Words

**Hey! Chapter 3 of Cursed is uploaded! Sorry for the delay, this chapter is fairly longer than the past ones. Anyhow I hope you enjoy it.**

**Also, thank ForensicHistory15 for helping me out with this chapter. She inspired me with words and sequences that you will soon read. Again: hope you likey!**

The examination passed by in a blur, and before I knew it, twenty-five minutes had passed since Cassiopeia had stuck a popsicle stick down my throat. I wasn't sure why I didn't remember hardly any of it, but then I realized I was most likely not aware of anything, based upon the fact that I could hardly feel, see, or hear much.

Despite an annoying throbbing in my chest (not my heart), I felt a whole lot better. I wasn't hurting, didn't have the desire to throw up, and didn't feel the need to blink and clear my sight. The weighing unhappiness I had felt this morning was disappearing. I exhaled and breathed in the medicine stale air.

"Is he going to be all right?" Nicole asked the nurse.

Cassiopeia smiled sweetly. "Of course he is. His ailment seemed to be a case of severe shock. But now that we've gotten some tylenol and minerals into him I think he should be fine." That explained the gross taste on my tongue. "Perhaps some water will wash the residue from the pills away? They weren't coated properly. I apologize," she said after noticing my disgusted face, walking out of the room.

I sat up on the stretcher, my head swimming slightly. Nicole was sitting down on a stool a short distance away, with Armaros leaning against the wall and his eye staring intently down to the floor. He had his arms crossed over his chest, the long tail flicking around his feet. He looked lost in thought.

Cassiopeia returned with a glass of water, which she carefully handed to me. I gratefully took it, drinking it down almost in five swallows. Apparently that milk hadn't satisfied my thirst. I was glad when the vitamins' bitter flavors were gone from my taste buds. Thanking her, I set it down on a countertop next to me, afterward fiddling with the shiny gold Ring on my wrist.

"Well if you are feeling decent, Shadow, you may leave," the nurse said politely.

The moment I was getting up, Armaros had suddenly crossed the room, whispering in Cassiopeia's ear. She jumped at something he uttered, looking at him with huge eyes. "Ioka?"

_What did she say?_

_I don't know!_

He nodded solemnly, brushing a few strands of his hair away from his brown eye patch. I cringed minimally when I saw it was stitched into his storm cloud gray fur.

"Siauc- siauc kamdoe?" she stammered, covering her mouth with a few fingers. "Le...?"

He nodded once more.

It took a few seconds for Cassiopeia to compose herself, then she darted away and to a cupboard. I exchanged a glance with Nicole, who seemed as confused as I was. The nurse stood on her toes to touch the top shelf, reaching as high as she could. I saw what she was grabbing for: a fat jug with the words SOUFFLER written across it in black sharpie. What was Souffler?

Cassiopeia gave up, realizing it was too much of a feat for her. Turning towards the doorway that separated us and another room, she hollered, "Ellick! Come help me with this!"

An audible sigh came from afar. "Can't you use your wings?" the same male voice from before called back dully.

The nurse went deep red with embarrassment. "I don't have any wings, remember? I'm a _tiger!_ Now get over here and get this medication for me!"

"Man! Fine!" Ellick moaned loudly. I heard his soft foot steps as he approached the office, and soon gaped, stunned at what walked in through the door.

Ellick was so tall, he had to stoop down to get under the frame. He also had large, sharp ended antlers that stuck out of the hood that disguised his face. Small, furry brown ears protruded from a few holes in the material below his antlers. I couldn't see anything in his hood, only darkness where his features should have been with two circular, lime green eyes. On his shoulders and neck area were clusters of glossy feathers, neatly pressed downward and fluffy. He wore a floor-reaching robe with wrist length sleeves, and his hands were terribly thin and white.

I was the only one who gawked at him. He was enormous! How could this _giant_ be Cassiopeia's _brother?_ Everybody else in the room smiled as he entered, the atmosphere lightening drastically.

"Hello, Ellick," Nicole greeted cheerfully.

His tone was smiling as his head found our faces. "Hello, Nicole, Armaros, sister and..." He trailed off and looked at me for a long moment. "Shadow."

Ducking below the ceiling, Ellick turned to his sister. "What did you need?" he asked with a deep, pensive voice.

"Will you please get that Souffler down for me?" She pointed up to the high shelf at the stout container. "You're taller than I am."

He chuckled. "Indeed I am!" Hunching over to her side, he took the bottle with his large hands and handed it to her. "Here you go."

"Thanks." Cassiopeia went around Ellick and to Armaros, where they discussed in low tones again. I was disappointed that I couldn't understand what they were saying. Were they speaking in another language?

_Bizarre language..._

Their chat ended, and they both turned to me. "Due to the circumstances with Tristan, Gregory, and Jax, we want you to take this, Shadow." Armaros held out the jug, which sloshed around. "If they ever taunt you in the night you won't be bothered."

I didn't take it, fearful for some reason. "Why are you giving me drugs?"

Ellick chortled. The grey cat shot him a glare to shut him up, and said, "It's knock out serum. When you ingest it, two minutes later you will be unconscious for eight hours. We understand from your uncle's phone call that you are... an insomniac, and believe this will help you sleep."

"Oh." That was a fruitful solution to my sleeping problems. I supposed that they knew what they were doing, since they were the faculty. But they were all in their teens and young adult years... I worried for a second before shrugging it off. 'Wisdom can come in many different expanses,' was an old saying of Dr. Gerald Robotnik's. I didn't believe it then, but I did now.

_An_ _insomniac? Not even a fraction of the truth._

_Be quiet!_

He gave me the huge jug of extreme sleeping draft. It felt a little overwhelming in my hand, due to its weight and power to knock someone out cold. But if sleeping soundlessly was the outcome to this stuff, I was willing to take it. I wanted to avoid pulling anymore overnighters. Those were literal torture.

Armaros perked up suddenly in the corner of my eye, looking like he had just been slapped cross the face. Cassiopeia and Ellick noticed, their eyes flashing towards him immediately. He staggered a few steps towards the door to the hall, sliding his fingers into his thick black hair and closing his eye. "I-I need to go. See you all later." He rushed out of the room in an instant, disappearing.

"My! Would you look at the time?" Cassiopeia suggested, pointing to a clock. It displayed: 12:57. "Looks like you two better get going! It's nearly time for the activities to begin."

"Oh right! I almost forgot. Thanks Cassi." Nicole smiled, standing quickly and pulling out a blaring cell phone from her pocket. "Looks like Mr. Dekker needs the counselors. Uh, will you be all right by yourself for a bit, Shadow?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Okay then. Bye." Raising her phone to her ear, she began to speak into it. "Hello, Mr. Dekker. Where should we meet?" Then she exited the nurse's office, leaving me by myself with the peculiar medical faculty.

"Um... I'm gonna go..." I muttered quickly, getting off the stretcher and nodding to Cassiopeia and Ellick. "Thanks for the stuff. I'll make sure I use it."

"Very well, Shadow. Have a nice afternoon," the nurse responded, clasping her hands at her lap. Her parting smile was rather motherly.

"And a nice night, too!" Ellick added enthusiastically.

Grinning awkwardly, I walked past them, opening the door and emerging into the cool halls. Studying the Souffler container, I noticed that everything was neatly hand-written. The dosage, how to take it, and when to take it. But the drug facts were missing, the active and inactive ingredients gone, and the age limit for patients wasn't present. I made a puzzled face and read where it originated from. Some place called Arne. Where was Arne?

Shrugging, I looked up, finding a mirror facing me on the wall, a reflection of someone staring back. I went closer to figure out who was in the glass.

It wasn't me.

_Secrets are meant to be known, Shadow the Hedgehog..._

"No."

_Things that fall will be shattered..._

"I'm unbreakable."

_Those that are weak will be destroyed..._

"You know nothing!" My voice shook.

_But I do... _

"You're lying!" I cried desperately.

_Prove it._

I couldn't.

Noise interrupted my agonizing thoughts. A flood of Artemis' guests were coming from the plaza. With the lunch hour over, they were most likely readying for the things that were planned for this afternoon. I swallowed at what those things were.

Looking back at the mirror, I saw myself, hand tight around the right side of my neck, sweating and pale. My breathing had accelerated from minutes before, and a rushing pulse was pounding beneath my palm. Exhaling and trying to calm myself down, I turned, only to get the sole of my shoe kicked as I raised it.

Whirling around, I came face to face with that coyote jerk and his monstrous pals. That plastered smirk was on his already sneering expression as he watched me closely with his dark blue eyes. "I see you've gotten better. How was your trip to the hospital, peewee?" The echidna behind him faked passing out on Gregory, who shoved him off his arm violently.

I frowned. "Wonderful. Thanks for asking."

His gaze traveled down to the Souffler flask I held. "What's this? Did you steal that?" He grabbed for it in awe, but I moved it out his reach. His eyes grew wide and he seemed appalled. "You selfish little addict!"

"I am not an addict!" I growled. "Cassiopeia gave me this!"

"Well then she won't mind if you share, now will she?" He snatched it away from me in a flash, holding it up so he could read the words. "What _is_ this stuff?"

"It says Souffler," the echidna piped.

The coyote turned on him. "I can read, _Jax_, though I'm surprised _you_ can." Jax the echidna flushed red.

"Sorry, Tristan." Gregory snickered at him.

Tristan grunted and rolled his eyes, uncapping the Souffler and sniffing it. He made a face, about to screw the lid back on. He looked to me instead with a smooth curl of his lip. "Wanna whiff?"

"Wh-"

He then proceeded to dump the medication onto my face. It smelled repugnant, bitter, and burned mildly as it touched my flesh. The Souffler became sticky as the air dried it, and I opened my eyes to watch the three of them laughing cruelly with joy. I was boiling.

A few passers-by stopped to watch, interested in our scuffle, and quite a few of them enjoying it. I tightened my fists, knuckles popping distinctly, grinding my teeth. The vibrating buzz in my skull heightened, a mighty roar tempting to rip from my throat.

_Let's teach this idiot a lesson he won't soon forget, shall we?_

_No! We can't!_

_Why not?_

Jerking my head to the side, I cringed at myself in the mirror. Dripping with medicine, red eyes on fire, anger practically emanating from my body.

Cold chortling followed up what I saw. _Oh... Why do you fear, Shadow? _

_Doesn't matter. Not to you, anyway._

Lashing out, I took the Souffler from Tristan's hand. Capping it again, I trudged away from the jibes and hoots, feeling humiliated. My first day at Artemis' Camp for Troubled Teens: I almost attack someone, I get sick, and afterward embarrassed in front of the punks and druggies. This was going to be a lovely summer, I could tell.

_"_Hey! Where're you going, Shads?" Tristan hollered after me, the chorus of sniggers ringing behind him.

"Probably to go clean up! You did a number on him, Tristan!" Jax said.

"You're right! I did, didn't I? Let's go get him! Come back here, you drip!" His footsteps became loud as he followed me. I pushed myself harder.

_Come on! Do something!_

_Make me!_

Big mistake.

_...Very well._

Tristan caught up to me, wrapping his fingers around one of my back spines. I froze, my mind finally exploding in a flurry of rage. As I whipped around to clock him in the temple with my elbow, I found myself stopped mid-swing.

Armaros had his hand over my right arm, with his other clenched into the material of Tristan's sweatshirt. His eye was blazing while he glared at the two of us. Where did he come from?

_"What the jist is wrong with you two?"_ he bellowed. "I turn my back only to find you fighting again? Do you think this is some sort of battleground, Mr. Harris?"

Tristan said nothing, only scowled at Armaros's hand on him. "Keep out of it, freak."

The cat ignored, turning on me. "And you! Calm down! The last thing we want here at a rehabilitation camp is for someone to get killed!"

_Oh, shut up!_

Feeling bold, I pulled my free arm back, tensing my hand into a fist and swerving in a full circle, then slugging him straight on the nose. There was a dull crack as his head whiplashed back, causing him to lose his sense of balance and fall to the ground, letting go of his grip on the two of us.

I crossed my arms and chuckled blackly. "Actually, I'd enjoy that."

The accompanying silence was like a deadweight. Everyone in the hall stared at Armaros lying on the floor, and I felt many gazes on me as a few seconds passed. "You're so dead, dude," Tristan said breathlessly.

"What do you mean?" I chortled, feeling like I conquered him. Naturally.

He swallowed. "The last kid who got in trouble with Armaros was found hiding out in a broom closet...," The atmosphere became edgy.

I raised a brow, unconvinced of any danger. "Go on...?"

"...with blood from his eyes all over his face. The kid was making fun of him because of his eyepatch."

After he shakily said that, I looked down to Armaros, unmoving still. Suddenly his head snapped upward, revealing how truly terrifying his expression was. I went rigid as he stood in one fluid motion, almost gliding to his feet effortlessly. The buckled collar of his jacket was pulled down, his mouth uncovered. Blood was running down from his nose, coating his pale skin and dripping into his teeth. I noticed that they seemed to be slowly becoming fangs that were being painted crimson. Deep blue and black sparks crackled around his fingertips, giving off an odd glow, casting shadows on his veins bulging from underneath his flesh.

Armaros took a step closer towards me, stopping only a few inches away. I felt compelling fear as he leaned inward, his darkening eye boring into my own. I watched as his iris shaded to a midnight blue, black ink creeping into the white of his eye. Once it had purely changed colors, he growled deeply in the back of his throat, a low primal sound.

I gulped lightly as he snarled out, "Be gone, you _curse."_

Smirking, I drifted past him, disregarding his gaze burning my back. "Well? Why are you all still here? Counseling, activities, immediately!" Armaros screamed behind me, his voice still a venomous growl. I heard the shuffling footsteps of the seriously confused inmates trudging towards their dorms, whispering about the event they had just witnessed. I caught a few stares.

I threw one final glance over my shoulder to see Armaros stalking away, hands in his pockets, and his head bent down. His coat billowed behind him, even though there was no wind to churn it, and I heard him mumbling to himself... or was he just sighing?

I walked a few paces down the hall, not noticing the man striding to me. We knocked into each other, my sticky hair getting caught on his shirt.

"Huh-?" he exclaimed, grabbing me by the ears and pushing with all his might. I was thrown back, stumbling with burning cheeks while I smoothed my flyaway fur.

"Watch where you're going!" I spat.

He merely watched me with mystified tawny eyes._ "What the, what?"_

We peered at each other for a few moments, scrutinizing. He was tall wolf, with rich, emerald green hair that was styled into a tuft at his forehead. His fur was also a deep, emerald color, and his skin was tanned. He had pointy ears, and a large furry tail that was tipped with white. He wore a button up, blood red shirt, rolled to the elbows, and black slacks. On his feet were amazingly white shoes, bright and partially gleaming. His gloves were black and fingerless, only reaching his wrists to leave his furred arms bare. A reticent aura was about him.

Something glinted in his eye, and he apologetically smiled. "Sorry about that. I can be a bit oblivious sometimes."

Rolling my eyes, I pushed by him roughly, grunting and continuing down the hall. Hearing his soft footsteps fade away, I rounded the corner and entered the corridor of B, remembering the room I was assigned to. Muttering the numbers on the doors to myself as I passed them, I eventually found sixty. Slipping the key out from beneath the twined cord of the iPod's ear buds, I took it out of my pocket and slid it into the keyhole.

Opening the door to my room, I slammed it behind me and kicked off my shoes and socks. Bare feet, exactly how I liked it. Smiling with pleasure, I padded along the carpet and threw the key onto the bed, along with the musical device and leisurely strolled into the bathroom.

Grabbing a wash cloth, I wet it under the water from the sink. I also grabbed a bar of soap from the cramped shower, rubbing them together till the material was sudsy. Then I repeatedly scrubbed my hair of the syrupy Souffler, or whatever it was called. How annoying, that pestering Tristan splashing it all over my head. This was becoming impossible to clean out.

Just as I was finishing up, a series of knocks came from the door. Throwing the medicine stained wash rag onto the tiled floor, I went to it and swung it open, finding that Nicole girl standing in front of me.

_What's she doing here? _

_I have no idea. Why don't you ask her? Be my guest, Shadow the Hedgehog._

I suddenly swooned, growing weak-kneed and collapsing against the door frame. Closing my eyes to keep dizziness from setting in, I said feebly, "Hey, Nicole. What's up?"

Crossing her arms and frowning, she shifted her weight from one foot to the other. "What's up? _You _punching _Armaros_ is what's up," she said icily. "Why would you do that?"

Opening my eyes and blinking, I stared into her unhappy cerulean gaze. "Wh-what are you talking about? I didn't do that. I've been... wait..." I just realized something...

How did I get from the middle of C hall to my room in B?

"How long has it been? Since I was in the infirmary?" I asked her.

Checking her flip phone's clock, she answered, "Almost six minutes. Why?"

"I can't remember anything..." I uttered, my mind racing. "Why can't I...?"

Nicole snorted, clearly uninterested in my worries. "Well, I'd love to help you, but you won't let me in on your secret. So," She pulled out a portable handbook and a pen from her pocket. "I've compiled a list of questions to ask you so I can understand you a little better. I'm _supposed _to do this; it's my job. If you have any concerns about me asking you these, say what you may now."

She waited, but I stayed silent. "All right then, Shadow. Go get your bathing suit. We're going to the pool." With that, Nicole swiveled on her heel and started to make her way down the corridor.

Finding out I wasn't wearing shoes, I quickly shoved my feet into socks and thrust them on. Then I grabbed my swim trunks and towel. After locking my door and darting after her, I walked at her side while she flipped through pages of her note pad.

I noticed then that she was in a different outfit. Nicole was dressed in a short-sleeved sky blue shirt with buttons, which bore the camp's crest on the left chest. It was of a moon, with a silhouette shooting an arrow through the celestial body's glow. She was also wearing khaki pants that were cropped at the knee. Her braided hair reached her thin waist, bobbing on her back with each step she took. I felt a little shabby next to her getup, with a deep green jacket, a black sleeveless shirt beneath it, and a well-worn pair of shorts.

She led me without a single word to the patio deck I had seen earlier. The pool was occupied with some swimmers, either in recreation or competition. Nicole gave me a surprisingly kind smile as we entered the humid place, sitting herself on a lawn chair placed near the water.

Darting into the changing room, I got out of my clothes and into my trunks. They were deep black, with red stripes on the sides. I smiled at myself, recalling some memories. Sonic always made fun of me when I wore these trunks, claiming they blended in too well with my fur. Laughing at old memories, I left my apparel in a random locker I found, then returned to the pool area and walked up to Nicole.

"Well? What were those questions?" I said to her as I stood, unable to refrain myself from posing. Grinning inside as she blushed, I waited for her answer as several whistles sounded from the girls hanging out at the pool.

"Um... get in the water. We can do more than one thing at a time, can't we?" she stuttered, trying to keep her eyes off my body. Obeying her order, I dove into the six foot end of the pool, coming up to the surface and brandishing my now wet spines.

She moved her chair and faced me, focusing on her notebook while she uncapped her pen. Sticking the cover between her teeth, she said above the splashes, "Where were you born?"

Hesitating only just, I replied, "ARK."

She scribbled it down, and began her interrogation. "Who were your parents?"

"Gerald was my father and Maria took care of me." That was the truth.

"Any siblings?"

"Just Maria and Sonic."

Nicole fell a little dumbstruck at Sonic's name, but shook her head and recorded, asking more questions as I swam around the water with relaxed pleasure. The pool was warm.

"Where did you live before you came to Artemis?"

"South Island."

"With who?"

"With my uncle Chuck and Sonic."

She slapped her pen down. "You keep saying Sonic. Do you mean _the _Sonic the Hedgehog?"

I nodded. "Yeah, why?"

"How do you know him?"

Wasn't it obvious? "We used to get in fights all the time. Don't you remember those awful news reports?" She nodded, looking thoughtful. "We're brothers, anyhow."

"D-did you say _brothers?_ You gotta be kidding me, Shadow! Sonic is your brother?" Nicole was almost shouting.

Peering around, I nodded. "Yes."

"What relation? You don't look alike at all."

"That's a common misconception." I snickered. "I'm his dark side, formed into a physical being. Or, as Gerald labeled it: I'm Sonic's shadow."

She fell back into her chair. "Wow. That's quite the brotherhood."

I nodded again. "No kidding."

"All right! Let's keep going..."

And so Nicole carried on her investigation of my life for several hours, including through dinner (which I didn't eat). I answered truthfully, still avoiding saying too much. I had to watch what I said around her.

Around anyone for that matter.

* * *

That night, I was almost ready for bed. After answering countless questions, I was deserving of a good night's rest. I wanted to be in top condition for tomorrow, when I had to face this terrible prison once more. But in order to do that, I needed knock out drops. Souffler, which I was running low on.

_Stupid Tristan..._ Frowning at the barely filled bottle, I stood in the bathroom and decided if it would be enough for one night. It wasn't even a mouthful. I was unsure if it would suffice, so I got on my shoes and left my room, heading towards the nurse's office.

The halls were dismally quiet and dark at this time of night. I couldn't see hardly anything but a few bleak niches in the walls where the doors to the dorms were. There were barely any lights overhead, and the ones that were there flickered eerily. It was cold.

I shivered around the hall's bend, entering corridor C. It was as dark as B hall was, but the small glimmering light of the infirmary on the right side of the passage illuminated the wood floors. It was welcoming, and I was drawn to it like a moth to the flame.

As I was nearing in on the door to the infirmary, a voice called out to me. "Hey! What are you doing wandering the halls at night?" They stomped towards me.

I froze and sneaked out a fearful yelp, trying to run, but my legs wouldn't move.

_Let's see who it is. None sneak upon us and get away free!_

_But I could get caught!_

_So? _

I watched the figure approach, and was blinded by a bright beam. I saw then that there was more than just one person. The green-furred wolf I had ran into before (literally), that seventeen-year-old black hedgehog Blitz, a grey lizard, and a pair of gothic bat girls. I looked at each one of them, trying to decipher the situation.

The wolf was holding the flashlight, shining it into my face, and the lizard and Blitz were holding the girls by their arms. "Are you with them?" Blitz asked with a deep tone that oddly reminded me of my own. The goths looked away and scowled with ebony and scarlet painted lips.

I shook my head. "No. I'm on my way to the infirmary, is all."

_"Why this late at night?"_ the lizard questioned, his yellow eyes sparking with astonishing hatred. I cringed from his harsh tone. _"What business do you have with Cassiopeia?"_ he tested cruelly.

He was elbowed in the ribs by Blitz, who scowled and said coolly, "Easy there, Torran. Don't blow a gasket."

"Erm... You know I hate it when they get out," Torran said back, looking away and composing himself.

"Uh... I need some medicine," I stated, glancing over their shoulders and to the my destination's door, which was only a few strides away. "Could I go and get some?"

The wolf turned to his company. "I will escort Shadow to the infirmary and get what he needs. Blitz, Torran, please take these ladies to their proper dorms, and make sure they are thoroughly scolded for getting out of bed," he said quietly, his tone calm and his words carefully picked out.

I surveyed my pajamas, seeing if I had some sort of identification I hadn't given notice to. How did every single person know my name? It was kind of creepy.

Blitz and Torran followed their orders, leaving the man and I alone in the gloomy darkness. Blitz glanced back at me with his similarly colored eyes, smiling something that gave me chills. I forced myself to look away as I imagined the whites of his eyes flashing black.

"Right, Shadow." The man caught my attention. "Follow me."

I did so, holding the practically emptied Souffler close to me. It seemed like the only sturdy thing I could hold on to as I followed the mysterious person towards the infirmary.

We made it. The lights were on, but nobody was inside. I missed Cassiopeia's warm smile, and strangely, Ellick's tallness. My leader opened a cupboard, handing me another bottle of the Souffler, giving me a tender grin. "Here you are. Fresh Souffler. Brewed only a few hours ago."

Taking it, I was confused. "You made this stuff?"

"I didn't, Cassiopeia did. It's an easy recipe, though. Ancient Arnian medication at its finest."

Nodding with satisfaction, I thanked him. "Cool."

"So you're... Shadow Robotnik, right? Or am I mistaken? I have a terrible memory for faces," he chuckled.

"Yeah. I'm Shadow."

"Then I'm Mr. Dekker. I am the founder of Artemis' Camp for Troubled Teens. It is an absolute pleasure to have you here." He thrust out his hand, and I shook it.

"It's nice." I lied. This place sucked. I couldn't wait till June was over, then I had two more months of suffering to endure. "You run a good cause."

"Thank you. How was your first day here? Enjoyable?" he wondered, cocking a brow.

"Um... a bit problematic, but..." I muttered.

"Has it? Well, that's nothing you can't solve, eh? You're Shadow the Hedgehog! The Ultimate Lifeform! You can prove those naysayers wrong no matter what you do."

His words of encouragement were a little dumbfounding. How did he know all of this about me? How did _anybody?_ Or was it just part of his job to be uplifting and peppy?

Laughing, I nodded again. "Yeah."

He sighed. "Well, I suppose that you should be running off to bed, hm? Can't keep you up all night." Mr. Dekker strode to the door and opened it for me, the yawning pit of darkness beyond. "See you in the morning. You have big things ahead of you."

"Alrighty, goodnight," I said unsurely, prepared to get to my room as fast as possible.

After sprinting down the barren hall, I practically kicked the door down to my room, chugging a few swallows of the foul Souffler bottle, and laying into bed.

Day number one: ended. _Finally!_

Exactly two minutes later, I was out cold.

**Yay! More edits!**

**Oh, and stay tuned for the next chapter!**


	4. Meddling

**All right! Thanks for reading so far, I hope you fans enjoy this story. Anyhoo, I thought I'd put a little drama in here, (I hardly ever do it, so please excuse it if it sucks). Have fun reading, imagine, and believe. :P**

**Ignore typos and reoccurring words. **

Pounding on my door woke me the next morning. Groggy, I sat up, blinking at the superior sunlight that was beating through the shades. I looked at my alarm clock. It was 7:00 AM. I was surprised, it really had been eight hours since I'd taken that Souffler. Armaros hadn't lied.

The pestering person on the other side of my door continued. "Wake up, Shadow! You slept in!"

"Okay, coming," I moaned back, rubbing my eyes and stretching. Then I threw the sheets off, sleepily walking to the wardrobe and removing my outfit for the day: a gray wind breaker and jeans. "Should I shower?" I said to myself, then nodded. "Probably be a good idea.

"I'll be out in a few minutes," I called to the person, shutting the door to the bathroom and getting out my toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, face wash, and shampoo. Once undressed and inside the glass stall, I turned it on, jumping around because the water spouting from the shower-head was intensely cold. After it heated up, I went through my showering routine with speed.

It was a little annoying, though. My shampoo bottle's contents exploded on my hand when I flipped it open, and my face wash was lumpy. I ignored it however, my stomach growling obsessively. I almost forgot I hadn't eaten dinner last night. I was never one to eat a lot, but as of late, I've been having the strangest spike in my appetite...

Jumping out of the shower, I snatched a towel to dry my quills. My extremely fast hands did excellent with the job, and I combed my non-wet hair only minutes after. After spiking it in its regular style, I brushed my teeth and got dressed. Leaving the bathroom door open, I quickly made the bed and got on some socks and shoes.

Leaving my dorm, I locked the door behind me, and smiled as I watched Nicole look up from her phone. "Good morning, Sleeping Beauty," she mocked.

I snorted. "Blame it on the Souffler, not my snoozing schedule."

"You tried it? I've heard it's nasty."

I nodded again. "More or less." Curiosity overcame me as I peeked to see what she was playing with on her phone. "What are you doing?"

She held it away from my eyes. "Texting."

"Who?"

She became defensive. "Nobody."

"Oh really?" I smirked.

"Yeah, really." I leaned closer to her, trying to find out who she was talking to. "Butt out, Shadow!"

"Why, is it private? C'mon, let me see!" We then got into a squabble, where she was jerking the phone away from me, while I reached for it. I was playing it easy, so she wouldn't feel so mediocre compared to my swiftness. But I ended up catching her wrist and grabbing the phone from her grasp, reading the small box with miniature letters on it aloud while I held her back from taking it again. "Hey baby, sorry we fought. I'll explain later. See you, love Tristan." It was difficult to repeat, due to that fact that it was written in text talk.

I turned on her, amazed. "That numbskull is your _boyfriend?"_

_"Ex-_boyfriend," she corrected, swiping it from my fingers. "I used to be his counselor when he was nice, but then he turned into a jerk. I broke up with him, but he still thinks we're together."

"That's why I'm not in a relationship. It gets too obsessive."

"I wish this would stop..." Nicole grumbled, lolling her head back and slouching. "He's so stupid! And pessimistic, and bipolar, and mean...," she trailed off and pouted, deleting the text (along with twenty other messages), shoving her phone into the pocket of her khaki shorts. "Let's go eat."

We started down the hall. "You're still wearing that?" I asked after I recalled her in the same getup the day before.

"What? Oh!" She glanced at herself. "These are the counselor's uniforms. We're supposed to wear them so the guests know who we are."

"Ah," I said, nodding. "So... do you have an insanely fast washing machine or multiple pairs of the exact clothing?"

Nicole laughed her bells once more. "Multiple pairs."

I kept by her side, smiling.

_She reminds you of her._

_What do you care?_

Silence followed. Although, I had to agree. Nicole did remind me of Maria. She even had her same attributes: golden hair, glistening blue eyes, a wonderful air about her. Even how she laughed was almost matching. I saddened.

_Get over it. She is dead, be glad you are not._

I growled in my mind.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. The daily schedule, Shadow," Nicole stated, pulling me from my internal conflict. "Breakfast is from six-thirty to nine, then there's free time till lunch. It starts at eleven-thirty, and goes till one, and after that the activities begin. Artemis attendants are allowed as many activities to participate in as they like, since dinner is started at six PM. Dinner ends at eight, then there's some more free time till nine. Lights out at nine-thirty. Got it?"

_Nine-thirty? NINE-THIRTY? _A splitting headache suddenly seared across my head painfully.

_Get over it!_

_AUGH! HOW CAN THIS BE?_

_Because Mr. Dekker made the rules, now BE QUIET!_

_...Nine-thirty... Nine-thirty..._

Silence came again as I held my temple, wincing. Nicole stared. "You okay, Shadow? You look like you just got screamed at."

Ignoring how ironic her words were, I forced a smile. "I'm fine. Yeah! Thanks for the info. I'll need it. Um... do you know what they're serving for breakfast? I'm starving."

She brightened up. "French toast, orange juice, and sausage. Come on, the cooks are incredible with their breakfast food!" Seizing my wrist, she tugged me behind her as we continued through the hall swiftly. My stomach moaned. This increased ravenousness was beginning to get on my nerves.

Before long I was half-dragged, half-towed to the mess hall. It wasn't very populated, only for a few early risers who looked wasted. Dark circles lined each pair of eyes I saw, and eyelids drooped as they lazily ate their meals. I was a morning person, so I didn't feel fatigued or exhausted at all. I could tell my counselor rather enjoyed the daybreak hours as well.

I then noticed why there weren't many kids eating breakfast. A huge group was crowded around a table, chattering excitedly and glancing over each member of the pileup's heads. Curious, I decided that food could wait, and approached the gathering with Nicole at my heels.

"Sign my book!"

"Please sign my napkin!"

"Hey! Get a picture!"

"Oh my gosh, he looked at me! Aah!" Some girl toppled over while her adoring fangirl friends fanned her with styrofoam trays.

Shoving through the bodies, I arrived at the table, which was solely occupied. My heart skipped a beat and I stopped dead at the face I knew.

"Shadow!" Sonic cried merrily.

Dumbfounded, I stood stupidly. "Sonic? What are you doing here?"

He got to his feet happily, turning a blind eye to the scraps of paper and pens that were littering his table, and the kids that surrounded him fanatically. Gently pushing past everyone, he came to me, grinning from ear to ear. "Forget that! How are ya, buddy?"

He presented himself before me, his bright green eyes ablaze with joy. I couldn't control how rapturous and startled I felt, and threw myself onto him, holding the blue hedgehog tight. "Miserable," I whined into his quills. "Please tell me you're taking me home?"

"Heh heh... About that..."

I let go, staring at him. "What? You mean you're just visiting?"

Sonic scratched the back of his head. "Not in a sense..."

"Then _what?" _This didn't look good.

"I uh, I work here, now, see?" My brother displayed the clothes he was wearing. I almost collapsed. How had I missed his counseling outfit?

"Does Chuck know?" I gasped.

Sonic balanced on his heels and balls of his feet. "No. I snuck out. It's why I got here so fast." He sheepishly smiled.

I crossed my arms, skeptic. "That's not very righteous, now is it?"

His ears drooped. "Mm," he mumbled pathetically.

Nicole appeared. "Whoa! Sonic the Hedgehog! Oh my gosh, I'm so glad to be a co-worker! I'm Nicole Zareck, I didn't get a chance to talk to you at the meeting yesterday." She held her hand out, the majority of female admirers watching turning red with anger.

Sonic shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, finally. You don't have to use the hedgehog label, just call me Sonic Diago." He flashed another grin... another girl fainted.

"Diago... I like that." Nicole giggled.

_Oh please._

Sonic glanced around. "So, anybody else hungry?" He was mainly talking to me, for he placed his hands on my back and parted the horde with my body as he came through. "Hope you all have a nice day! Start out with a healthy breakfast, make good choices, blah, blah, blah..." Fading out, we left the vicinity of his fans, heading towards the barren serving counters. "Ugh, I hate talking encouragement," he grunted.

"Get used to it. You're gonna be doing it a lot more often, now that you're here."

He barked out a laugh. "That didn't come with the contract!"

Once at the counters, we took our trays and slid them along. With my stomach rumbling up a storm, I picked out a few slices of eggy french toast, a small tub of maple syrup, a package of orange juice mix with a water bottle, and a sausage link.

_Meat! Get more meat!_

_Fine._

Make that _three_ sausage links.

Sonic followed up, grabbing forks for both of us and heading to a vacant table. Nicole was taking her sweet time behind us, deciding on the highest quality of foods that were being set out. Sitting across from Sonic, I licked my lips and stabbed the end of a sausage.

"So, Shadow," he began after taking a swig of the orange juice he had swished. "Have there been any problems lately?"

Pausing, I shook my head. "Nothing much. Only that I almost attacked someone, got sick, punched a member of the faculty, and was out later than I should've been."

My sarcasm overflowed, and he choked. "W-what? You did all of _that _yesterday?"

I shrugged. "Wasn't my fault... entirely."

He understood what I meant. "Well, why'd you attack that innocent kid?"

"Hey!" I pointed the ends of my fork at his nose. "Innocent isn't even in the equation. He got to _me!"_

He dumped syrup over his toast. "Who was it?"

"Tristan Harris," I said numbly.

"Oh, that punk? Yeah, I understand why you'd want to bang up on him. He got smart on me yesterday..." Sonic raised a brow. "You were stopped, right?"

"Uh-huh. This guy Armaros snapped me out of it." I took a bite of the meat, savoring the taste. I typically didn't like sausage and preferred bacon over it, but it was absolutely delicious, at the moment. "He's creepy."

"How so?" He cocked his head to the side, smearing the syrup with his fork.

"I don't know... pitch black hair, an eyepatch, and a freaky iris color change in front of my face usually never unnerves me, y'know?"

I frowned slightly. _I don't remember that..._

_I do._

Chuckling, Sonic went on. "How'd you get sick?"

I rolled my eyes. "Beats me. One moment I'm perfectly fine, the next I feel like crap."

"You don't say? Hmm... that's strange... What about the punching? Who did you punch?" He seemed mildly interested, now.

I poured the orange mixture into my water bottle, capping it and shaking it up and down. "Armaros."

"Man, you've got a bad relationship with him," Sonic chortled, slicing up his sausages. "What have you got against the guy?"

"Mmm. He's a little odd."

_He's a freak, that's what._

Sonic looked away from his breakfast, focusing on Nicole's back. "Who's that chick?"

"You know her name," I said, already poking another sausage's skin. "Nicole Zareck."

"I meant what she does. I know she's a counselor, judging by her outfit-"

"She's _my_ counselor."

His green eyes went bleak. "You're serious?"

"Yeah."

He leaned close to me. I did the same. "Does she know?"

"Of course not! Why would I tell her?" I glanced to her. "She's persistent, though, I'll give her that. She knows we're brothers, and about my past and stuff. But that's all I've said."

He slumped over in relief. "Good. I don't think she'd work here any longer if she knew about it."

I grinned as she started to walk over to us. "Yep."

"Hey guys. Mind if I sit with you?" Nicole had arrived, her eyes bright. Sonic looked hesitant, but allowed her a seat next to him. "Thanks. Wow, I can't believe I'm right by the most famous hedgehogs on Mobius. This is awesome!" she delightedly exclaimed as she began consuming breakfast. "I've only dreamed of meeting you guys."

"Really? I didn't get the welcome wagon when I showed up here," I said sourly.

"Well I would've been more welcoming if I'd known what your problems were! You refuse to tell me," she shot back, her smile capsizing into a sneer.

Sonic's gaze flickered to me. "You wanna know his problems?" Nicole looked eager, but I grabbed him by the wrist and bore my teeth.

"Don't!"

_NO!_

"Listen to this!" he whispered to me, then turned to Nicole as I let go. I understood what he was doing.

_What is he-_

_Shush!_

"Shadow has schizophrenia, multiple personality disorder and insomnia." Sonic named off afflictions on his fingers. "At least that's what the physicians diagnosed."

I nodded, furrowing my brows in false sadness. "It's true."

Nicole's expression was priceless. "No kidding? Oh my gosh, Shadow I had no idea! I'm so sorry!" She covered her mouth with her hand in shock. "Those are terrible things to live with. I promise I'll help you recover as best I can! I'm the finest counselor Artemis' Camp for Troubled Teens has to offer!" Determination bolded her words.

I grimaced. "Hear that, Sonic? _Finest counselor ever._ Isn't that just peachy?" I cracked a fake grin, talking through my teeth.

He lightly punched my shoulder. "It's perfect for your condition, Shadow. Absolutely perfect." He winked playfully.

About two minutes after we returned to our food, Sonic began to uncontrollably giggle. I stared at him, confused, but then I realized what he was tittering over: Nicole had believed us. Nobody ever believed that lie we always told for some reason. Even Charles needed an actual explanation of what was going on with me. Unable to suppress a few snickers as well, I laughed with my brother.

Nicole took notice, and grew upset. "What are you guys laughing at?"

"Nothing," we replied with guffaws behind our voices.

She made a face, but dismissed our giddiness, and started back on her breakfast.

Sonic became distracted. "Uh-oh," my brother's voice split the silence.

My head snapped over to his direction. "What is it?"

"Trouble."

My counselor was alert. "What trouble?"

Sonic was staring at the entrance, where more Artemis guests were coming into the lunch room to eat. The first in the troop were Tristan, Gregory, and Jax. The coyote was holding a small paper, two daffodils clenched in his other hand. I could only guess what those were for as he scanned the mess hall for any trace of blonde hair.

Fatefully, he spotted Nicole, and came towards the table with a proud stride. I threw my hood over my head and became buried in my food, while Sonic bent low and hovered above his nearly finished french toast and sausage. She flipped out, whispering desperately, "Quick! Hide me!"

My eyes flickered over to the three shadows that appeared by her shoulder. "Too late."

"Hey, Coliebear," Tristan said in a shockingly flirtacious voice.

Nicole gave up on hiding. "I've already told you, my name's _Nicole,_ not _Coliebear."_

"But it's such a cute nickname. C'mon, sugar, don't be mad. I was just... unhappy is all. You don't have to-" He held out the daffodils and apology card.

She smacked them out of his hands and whirled on him while still sitting. "No, Tristan, you were drunk. I'm not your counselor anymore, now get away from me."

He whistled as he watched his presents drift to the floor. "Aw, why so crabby?"

"You know why." Nicole's voice was like poison.

Tristan didn't care in the slightest. He sat beside her, wrapping his arms loosely around her neck and stroking her cheek with his thumb. "Would a snuggle make you feel better?"

She proceeded to slap him cruelly on the face. "Don't touch me, you pervert!"

The slap seemed to have echoed, and Gregory and Jax looked like they had been swatted as well. Sonic and I glanced at each other in awe.

Nicole had made a bad move, for she had just aggravated Tristan. Raising his arm, he shouted, "Why you ungrateful little-"

I stood abruptly, crossing him mid-swing with my body. Glaring at him, I snarled. "Watch your language around the lady."

His eyes burned. _"You!" _A finger was thrust onto the tuft of white fur I had on my chest. "Don't get in my way!" I was then shoved into Jax, who pushed me off of him in disgust, and into the side of the lunch table. The silverware and dishes shook at my collision.

Tristan grabbed Nicole by her braid, forcing her on her feet by pulling on her hair. "Ow!"

"Now you listen here, Zareck, if we don't kiss and make up, this relationship's over!" he hissed, jabbing at her lips. "Now pucker up! I've waited for you to make out with me for too long!"

"I wouldn't kiss that lip stud even if you were the alternate choice to a warty toad!" she shrieked.

It was Sonic's turn to defend Nicole. He jumped up from his bench, walking up to Tristan and her swiftly. I joined him, but we were both blocked by Gregory and Jax, who were focused on protecting their self-proclaimed leader. Grinning crookedly at my brother, we prepared to knock them aside.

_This shouldn't be too hard... Let's destroy those imbecilic oafs!_

Just as we charged...

"Whoa! Whoa!" I was snagged by the shoulder, and Sonic by his hair. Gregory and Jax turned to stone, their eyes saucer-like as they glimpsed who we had been stopped by.

Sonic and I turned our heads around, finding none other than the Camp's president, and his loyal assistant behind us.

Arcon had us in an unbreakable grip. Armaros was next to him, hidden partially by the wolf's shoulder and trying to disappear. Mr. Dekker looked menacing today with a deep set scowl, and dressed in a dark tuxedo and pants, with his blindingly radiant shoes, and a blood red tie. Armaros had on a zip-up black jacket with faded jeans and spiked boots, a dulling white t-shirt on his torso. He looked drained.

_Ughh... _I abruptly felt worn out.

_What is it?_

_Ar-armaros..._

_What? What's wrong with him? _Something had changed within me. I struggled to maintain stability on my feet, and my mind was numbing.

Arcon let us go, sliding between Sonic and I with ease. Armaros stayed back, leaning against the table and holding it tight. I keeled over myself, Sonic's quick reflexes my savior as he snappily caught me.

"You okay?" he wondered worriedly.

Mr. Dekker threw bulky Gregory and Jax into chairs like they were nothing but cardboard. "Sit down, boys." Crudeness plagued his usually calm tone. He silently approached Tristan, with Nicole nearly an inch from the coyote's mouth. She was squirming and grunting, trying to push herself away from his clutch on her.

_"MR. HARRIS!" _Arcon shouted. Tristan nearly jumped out of his fur. _"I hate to interrupt your romantic entanglement, but forcing a young woman into kissing is punishable, especially if that young woman is a counselor!"_

"What is this, an interruption convention?" the coyote questioned, dazed.

_"Did you hear me?"_

He groaned and reluctantly let go of Nicole. Folding his arms and pouting, Tristan tapped his foot on the floor in a silent tantrum. "Yes, Mr. Dekker..."

Arcon toothily smiled. "Good lad. Now, if there is any more violence, discipline will not just be a lecture, understand?" He looked at everyone, waiting for agreement.

Mutters of, "Yes sir, Mr. Dekker," or, "Okay..." sounded from our group.

Satisfied, Arcon twisted around, firing one last glare to Tristan. He passed me, reaching up and tossing my hood off my head. "No hoods," he grumbled, striding away from our gathering without another word. Armaros weakly followed after.

Tristan, looking highly embarrassed, did as Arcon did, sneering, and eventually stalked from us with Jax and Gregory close behind him.

**(EDITED!) Sorry if it was a little fast, I wanted to get this chapter done so you could all read it.**


	5. Too Close A Call

**Hey everyone! I'm _so _sorry about the delay. This chapter is freakishly long and epic, plus, I had a terrible case of writer's block... :( **

**Anyway, hope you enjoy it. It's a lot better than the last chapter. No more drama for me! It's action time!**

**Also, thank you ForensicHistory15 for getting me back on my feet again. You can also thank her for a paragraph she wrote. :P**

**Please disregard typos, misspelled words, reoccurring words, and some possible confusing sentences. I wanted to get this chapter in fast, so you guys could read it. :P Enjoy!**

Sonic looked at me as soon as Tristan and his cronies left the cafeteria. His eyes were hard. "You okay?" he repeated.

I rose steadily from his arms, trying to seem more aware of what had happened. As soon as I had turned my eyes on Armaros, I was rushed with fatigue. My head was spinning and my legs felt like gelatin. "Yeah. Just fine," I grunted. "Nicole?"

She was standing stiff-legged, her hands balled into fists and her teeth bared. I noticed her shirt was wrinkled from Tristan's sweaty hands, and her braid had come undone partially, strands of her blonde hair sticking out randomly. "Ugh, I _hate _that good-for-nothing jerk!" she hissed. "He chooses to harass me in plain sight of everybody! Next time I see him... he's in for a world of hurt..."

Sonic chuckled. "I'll pay to see that. You sure you're all right, Shadow? You look a bit woozy."

I shrugged, ears flopping downward. "I _feel _a bit woozy."

"Do you wanna lie down?" he immediately offered.

I smiled. Why did he take such pity on me? After all, I had almost killed him... several times. But Sonic was a forgiving guy, he didn't hold grudges. That was a gift he had always possessed, and now that I had gotten to know him, it's been one of the greatest attributes my brother's got. I was grateful.

I nodded. "Sure. That sounds nice."

He perked up, his usual glow of happiness replacing the emanating guardian emotions he had had seconds before. He slung my arm around his shoulders and let me lean on him. "You good?"

"Yep."

We sauntered towards the double doors, but were stopped by my counselor. "Where are you taking him?" she demanded, hands on her hips as she stood in our path.

Sonic replied simply, without effort. "My dorm."

Nicole was revolted. "But you know guests aren't allowed in faculty rooms!"

He snorted. "So?"

She laughed a cruel snigger. _"So, _Shadow can't go with you to your room."

"Really?" he cocked a brow, smiling smugly. "Then give me three reasons why he can't, and I'll take him to his own place."

Nicole opened her mouth instantly, about to say something. I could tell by the look in her eyes she wasn't entirely sure of herself, but she spoke anyway. "It's against Mr. Dekker's regulations, you never know when he'll lose his grip on sanity, and you're only the boss of his hall, not him specifically. _I'm_ Shadow's counselor, it's my job to know where he is and what he's doing at all times."

I stared at her, as did Sonic.

_'Lose his grip on sanity?' I'll make the grip become lost... on her pretty little head! _

_Do you have to be so violent?_

_Violence runs in my blood... and in yours. It's natural._

_Yeah? Well this natural thirst for ripping peoples' heads off sucks._

Dark chortling reverberated around my mind.

"Well you said more than three things," Sonic mentioned coolly, breaking my concentration. I watched him as he got that expression on his face: the one where he smiles suavely, his eyelids partially cover his eyes, and he tips his head back slightly. The: _I-know-I'm-better-than-you _look_. _I recognized that very well. "...so I'm just gonna sum it up for you, Nicole." She seemed unnerved, but listened to him.

"First off, Mr. Dekker's got some pretty stupid rules. Does he actually think that Shadow's going to snap into craziness while _I'm_ with him? Not likely. And though I am the leader of the B dorms, I'm still Shadow's older brother; I cannot leave the issues he's got unattended by a girl who hardly knows a real thing about him at all. As for the counseling, I understand that you get paid to do this, but you should leave Shadow to me. I can take care of him perfectly fine."

A moment's pause followed.

Nicole said not a word.

_Impressive._

Sonic grinned at her, patting her shoulder as he passed by. "See you at lunch, Nicole." With that, we left the cafeteria, my brother holding his head high.

I chuckled. "Man, you're quick."

"Ha ha! Thanks!"

"You really thought of all that on the spot?"

He shrugged. "Yeah. Well I was thinking about it yesterday, and how Arcon didn't want me to go anywhere near you. I thought it was a little... suspicious, so I compiled a list of things wrong with his rules." Sonic flashed a grin. "Foretelling is my thing, you know."

I slouched. "Don't I know..."

Pattering footfalls echoed behind us. I was about to glance back, but Sonic shoved my head in a forward position. I looked at him. His eyes were mischievous. What was he going to possibly do this time?

Nicole caught up to us, her anger even showing through how she ran. We paid no heed to her, so she sped in front of us and walked backwards, facing us and frowning wickedly. "You lied to me!"

Sonic shrugged. "Wasn't very hard."

Her eyes went wide with frustration. "You-"

"Right! Well, I think we've had a lovely, hectic morning together, but we need to get going," Sonic quickly stated, reaching out and grabbing Nicole's arm to stop her. She halted, still fuming, and my brother simply moved her out of the way, by scooting her to the side, then took off sprinting with me in tow.

Racing past several kids on their way to breakfast, we streaked into the A hall. I could tell while going super speed that there weren't a lot of dorms in this corridor.

_There must not be many members of the staff..._

_Then how do they control all of these children?_

Sonic zipped around a corner, the poorly-glued posters on the walls tearing off their adhesive. Spirited signs fluttered in the air as we bolted passed them, a flurry of papers surrounding us. All visibility was lost, and Sonic struggled to push them from his sight.

"How do you know where you're going?" I shrieked. A rogue corner slashed my cheek.

"I don't!" he hollered back.

"What? Are you kidding me?"

"How could I be kidding if I-"

Sonic cut off abruptly, disappearing as I went shooting forward. Skidding across the mahogany floor, I found myself hurtling towards a wall. "NOOOO!" Colliding with a thud, I slid down the wood, landing on the floor and falling onto my back with a moan.

I heard Sonic's groans from somewhere far behind me. "What the heck...?" he whimpered. I rolled onto my aching stomach and blearily glanced to the blue hedgehog, lying in a twitching heap beneath Arcon's feet.

"Oh, hello," he said casually, seemingly oblivious that Sonic and I had just ran into him at two hundred miles an hour. "Fancy meeting you here?"

Sonic's face became seriously confused. "Uh... Yeah...?"

Arcon turned his head and looked at me, his expression mimicking my brother's. "Weren't you... over here?" He sized up the distance I had flown down the hall, pointing next to Sonic.

I didn't know what to say, so I shrugged. "I don't know...?"

He nodded. "Hm." Mr. Dekker walked away, looking lost in thought, but also amused. I stared after him, wondering how in the world he hadn't been caught in a pileup of bodies against the wall. That was weird... Ouch...

I stiffly stood up, Sonic doing so as well. He was smoothing out his clothes and dusting himself off of wood shavings, while I was caressing my sore nose and brushing the fresh paper cut on my face.

"Well that was," he paused briefly as we approached each other. "fun."

After a second, we both began to boast into laughter, remembering all of the crazy adventures we had had on South Island. This was definitely one of those moments that brought me back to the time he took me Knothole Village, where the local orphans, my brother, and I went sledding down an enormous hill... in a tractor. We bowled over houses, crops, livestock, including half of Knothole's orchard. We were scorned up a storm after we managed to finally stop, and I was never allowed to step even a toe into Knothole again.

I smiled, returning to the present. "Good times," Sonic sighed, most likely recalling the same thing. "Good times."

Movement at the end of A hall caught our attention, and we turned to find Blitz with wide eyes and an open mouth staring at the wreckage. He was holding a tub of syringes with INFIRMARY scribbled across the container, and dropped them with shatters of glass and a heavy _thunk._ His tail flicked back and forth, and he lowered his head while running thin fingers through his fur. Blitz audibly sighed, kneeling and beginning to pick up the fliers that were laid over the paneling.

Sonic and I exchanged glances. _Let him take care of the cleanup. Or better yet, find the janitor! That's his job, isn't it? _Seemed logical.

I was about to obey and turn my back, but my brother, being the all-around nice guy he was, walked across the sea of posters towards Blitz, grabbing the papers as he made his way towards him. I groaned both inside and out, but joined him and stooped to retrieve the scattered notices.

"Did you do this?" Blitz asked both of us with a hint of annoyance, ignoring the words blaring from the page he was holding: 'Be patient!'

"Yeah. Sorry about that... I was going too fast and didn't think the posters would fall off the walls," Sonic replied, being as polite as he could. He had a good stack of gathered fliers, and set it down next to a vacant air vent so he could free his hands. He resumed cleaning. "I'll remember to walk in the halls from now on."

Blitz examined the poster that was resting on the very top of Sonic's pile. "Clearly you missed reading _that?" _Sonic cringed at _NO RUNNING _plastered across the canvas.

He smiled sheepishly. "Eh..."

"That's what I thought," Blitz mumbled, slapping down a tall pile of posters and taking one that was brightly colored and tattooed with an enormous yellow smiley face in the center. "Ugh... I hate these repulsive ads."

I snorted. "I can imagine."

He went still, only his blood red eyes drifting from his hands to look at me. "You can?"

A shiver ran up and down my spine. "Yeah. I've tried to ignore the signs, but the flashy colors and stupid pickup lines are rather obnoxious. I've only been here a day."

He smirked, which I realized mirrored my toothy grin. "Try three years, then we'll talk. You didn't have to help Mr. Dekker put them up." He scowled at the mounds of fliers we had assembled, grumbled something under his breath, and continued collecting.

Sonic's gaze on me was wary, his eyes turning leery as he watched Blitz. I could tell he didn't feel comfortable around him, which was understandable due to his outfit today. A black, zipperless hoodie with grey sleeves, dark cargo pants and on his feet black shoes. The eye-modeled necklace around his throat seemed to be glaring us down.

I noticed with surprise that when Blitz reached for a far off poster, his sleeve would lift, revealing red streaks on his wrists like the markings I had on my own arms. Just then, I also noticed that his spines, quills, and edges of his eyes were tipped with red as well.

_That's eerie..._

_What's eerie?_

_How much he looks like me! Don't you find that... I don't know, creepy?_

_Hmm... I suppose you're right... He _does _bear a resemblance to you..._

_His voice even sounds like mine!_

I shuddered and quickly busied myself with gathering fliers after I caught Blitz staring at me. Did he just chuckle?

It took us about eight more minutes to pick up every last paper. I was shocked as to the huge number it actually was, and gawked at the forty-eight towers of pure posters we had just rallied. Sonic whistled as he surveyed our horde. "That must've taken a _lot of glue..._"

Blitz turned to us. "Thank you for helping me. Now if you will excuse me...," He strolled back to the syringe box, picking it up with one hand and giving us a side glance. "I must deliver these. Have a wonderful day." With a final impersonated smirk of mine, he quietly walked down A hall, and out of sight.

Immediately after Blitz disappeared, Sonic seized my wrist, jerking me to his side. "C'mon." I didn't have time to say anything, for we were already starting towards wherever his dorm was in a hurry, his footsteps barely making sound on the birch.

When we arrived at his door (labeled eleven), Sonic pulled out a key from his pocket and opened the lock with a hushed click. Then he swung the door inward, pushing me inside and closing it behind him in a rush. He stood himself against the door once we were secluded, a disturbed expression on his face. Sonic's eyes were clouded with concern.

"Did you see that?" he said in an undertone.

I swallowed. "See what?"

"How much that Blitz guy looks exactly like you? I mean, even his features! I swear those streaks weren't there yesterday."

Funny. I just had this conversation. "Streaks?" I echoed.

"The ones on his arms and eyes. I saw him when I first got the job; Mr. Dekker wanted me to meet everyone. His fur was plain black at that meeting. No stripes _anywhere."_ When he got a glance of my unsettlement, he went on. "I'm not joking, Shadow."

"I know you're not! It's just so strange..." I folded my arms and focused on tapping my foot. "He even _sounds_ like me."

"You noticed too?"

"Yeah. His smile is ironically the same as well."

Sonic laid a hand on his head. "Something weird's going on here. I can feel it."

"What could it be, though?" He stared at me dismally, but didn't respond.

After a moment of silence, I looked around. "Well, on a different note, you've got a nice place here. Do the staff members get better rooms?"

He laughed, shaking off his suspicions. "Probably."

He was telling the truth, though. The walls were a fine, deep brown wood, with the carpet a warm green. I noted that the king sized bed was super comfortable looking, with glossy tan sheets and four plush pillows. There was an armoire, a desk, and then the exit to the large bathroom. A circular table with a single chair sat near the wide window, on it a small library of classic books and a lamp. It smelled satisfying in here, just like it had in Mr. Dekker's office, but Sonic's aroma was lingering in the air along with it. A plain white fan purred faintly on the ceiling, providing some cool breezes that blew our hair gently.

"You still feeling crappy?" Sonic asked me.

I shook my head. "I'm actually doing a lot better. I think that adrenaline rush cleared my queasiness a bit." I smiled as my nose twinged. "Then again running me directly into a wall usually helps too."

His ears drooped guiltily. "Sorry 'bout your nose, dude. I didn't mean to hit Arcon so hard. He was like a steel slab! I got a pretty good punch in the gut after I smacked into him."

"You hit his fist?" I furrowed my brows.

"Well, more like flew straight into his torso while his hands were up, but yeah." Sonic rubbed his abdomen, wincing slightly. "At least he wasn't hurt."

I shrugged. "Eh, who really cares? He's a bit strange too."

"Meh," he replied. "Almost everyone here is."

I chuckled. _"Almost? _Who are the normal ones?"

"Nicole, me, and a few of the counselors Henna and Drakor." He smirked at his name.

"How are you normal? You're not even a smidgen average," I pressed, scowling impishly.

Sonic posed, flashing a proud grin and looking up at the ceiling in a lunge stance. He had his hands up in a bow-and-arrow shooting position, and said triumphantly, "I'm perfect, that's why."

I frowned, feeling pain in my heart. "Yeah, you're the perfect one. I'm bearing three deaths on my shoulders. Your slate's clean."

Sonic saddened. "I'm really sorry, Shadow. How are you keeping yourself in check?" I felt his gaze upon me even as my head was bowed in sorrow. "Give me a number from one to ten. One being poor and ten being good."

I sighed. "Five."

He took in a breath through his teeth. "You serious?"

I nodded sadly, slumping my shoulders and trying to forget the shrill screams of terror that resonated about my mind. "I haven't been on my best behavior, lately."

"What do you mean?"

"I get... angry easily, there are more conversations in my mind, and I'm starting to see things..." I muttered, plopping myself down on the edge of the bed. "It hasn't been this bad before..." I held my head, cringing against the flashes of gunfire and splatters of crimson that played like tapes before my eyes. "I've been using this drug to keep me from getting up at night, but I'm not sure if I'll adapt to it like I've done with the past sleeping pills I've been prescribed."

Sonic sat himself next to me. "So you're getting worse." Nervousness backed his tone.

I nodded, feeling very afraid and like I needed to break down. Not crying, but just crash and forget about _everything._ That seemed like a good idea. "Yeah."

My brother's head lolled forward, and he let out a long grunt. "I don't know what to tell you, Shads. There's nowhere safe for you. I keep thinking of taking you home, but that wouldn't be good. Chuck would kill you for all that money he spent and most likely ground you for the rest of your life. Then you never know what dangers you could face on South Island with your problem."

I looked at him gloomily. "Any other suggestions?"

He leaned back onto the bed and laid down, clasping his hands on his chest. "Well you could try to control yourself, maybe listen to the counseling and methods of healing that Camp Artemis' has to offer. By what Chuck's researched, they're pretty professional. Keep taking that drug, it could potentially cure your insomnia without a major overdose. Once again, Shadow I don't know."

I sneered at the wall. "You realize both of those ideas are doomed to fail, right?"

"Huh... Yep."

Moments passed by in quiet. I stared at my hands, pondering, the winking gold rings around my wrists feeding me newfound hope. "I... guess I'll _try_ to control myself..." I mumbled, closing them into fists and ignoring the malicious spitting of harmful words in my head. "I'll give it a shot this week, see how I do."

Sonic sat up slowly, looking intently into me. "Really? You're gonna try?"

I shrugged, smiling half-heartedly. "Why not?"

He pepped up and jumped to his feet, grinning brightly. "Yes! Your confidence is back! I missed your old attitude, Shads!" I was grabbed by the hood and heaved next to him, where he celebrated my return of perspective. I guess how I used to be was a great person in Sonic's eyes. But on that fateful night, I was lost in a totally different state of mind for years. Now my actual reappearance was something to cheer for. I smiled too, excitement replacing my glum emotions.

Once we were through enjoying ourselves, Sonic threw open his door and clutched the collar of my jacket, yanking me out with him. "Come on, Shadow! A soccer game's going to be on during free time! Remember when we used to compete at home? We would completely destroy the other team!" Sonic sounded like an eccentric little kid on Christmas morning. "We _gotta_ play!"

"S-sure!" I stuttered, my stomach churning. I was impeccably good at soccer, but wasn't looking forward to playing against the awkward inmates, where I would be put in the spotlight once more. Their first impressions of me weren't the best... I groaned at what could possibly ensue at the soccer field. But what's life without a few risks, right?

And so I was pulled down several hallways, which were deserted. I noted when we soared down A hall that the fliers Blitz, Sonic, and I had collected were gone, leaving the floor and the walls bare. After we left the faculty passage, my brother slowed considerably down to a brisk jog. He let go of my shirt then so I could follow him, and we entered the plaza.

There was quite a gathering at the large place. I was curious, for the chatter was elated and fast, the eighteen or so kids surrounding someone with a clever voice. Sonic pushed past the pack, I following him as he commanded that he was coming through. As we made our way to the center of the circle, I caught a few happy glances and some shouts.

"He's here!" a girl whispered to a friend.

"They're _both _here!" her friend uttered back spastically, bubbling a giggle afterward.

_They're expecting us..._

_For what, I wonder?_

Sonic had successfully pried through the Artemis guests, and walked up to the person who stood in the middle of the horde. He was not what I thought him to be.

He was a dragon, with snowy scales and deep green eyes. Large black spikes ran on his forehead, skull, and down his spine, then trailed to the tip of his long tail. His wings were relatively large and folded, with deep red sails and claws on the top. Scarlet stripes zigzagged on the white plated skin of his entire body – they bore the equivalence to tiger stripes. In his hands was a soccer ball, the black talons on his three fingers holding it securely, but not too tight so it wouldn't pop. He wasn't wearing shoes, his two clawed toes on the front of his foot, and one on the back. The only pieces of clothing he wore were a well-worn pair of brown cargo shorts, along with a silver dog tag that rested in the hollow of his neck. He bore a sly smile as he watched Sonic and I approach.

"Well, well, well, speaking of the devils, here they come!" he said snidely. "It's a pleasure to finally meet the famed Sonic and Shadow the hedgehog." He tucked the ball under his right arm, sizing us up quickly. "The name's Paimen. I'm the sports director here."

Sonic nodded. "Cool. So, what's this about a soccer game?" he sounded excited.

Paimen grinned. "I was just about to ask you about that! Would you - meaning Sonic _and _Shadow - do us the great honor of playing a few games with us? After all, we want to see your world-class speed in person, don't we guys?" he called to the surrounding kids. Whoops and hollers of agreement rang out earnestly. "Whaddya say?"

Sonic delightedly approved. "Sure! We love a good game of soccer," he said, looking around. "Where are we playing?"

Paimen was overjoyed, but he was attempting to hide it. "All right! We're going to the gym! C'mon, let's go." He started walking, the kids parting and talking amongst themselves animatedly. Sonic and I followed suit, the flood of guests behind us.

I glanced at the blue hedgehog unsurely. "You sure this is a good idea?"

He shrugged. "Why not? It's a friendly game of soccer, nothing bad's gonna happen, bro."

I wasn't at all reassured.

"Besides," he added. "even if you do strike again, you'll have me there to help!"

I brandished my hands solemnly. "Yeah. Guess so."

He sighed. "Don't worry, Shadow. Everything is going to be all right. Promise."

"Have you _foretold_ it?" I mocked, upturning the corner of my mouth in a small grin.

He tapped his temple. "Could have."

I focused forward. "All right, then. Let's show these kids who the _true_ soccer masters are!"

Sonic's eyes sparked. "Oh yeah! Bring it on!"

The walk over to the gym was brief, our horde traversing the E hall in a fast stride so we could play sooner. I began to feel the pre-game jitters: where my legs longed to do some running and my feet some kicking. I was surprised. I hadn't been this way in many a month. I missed how good it felt!

Eventually we all poured into double doors, emerging into a high-ceilinged room with bleachers lining either side of the walls. A pair of basketball hoops faced each other high above the shiny linoleum floor, which was patterned with Artemis' Camp's insignia. There was sports equipment dotting the spacey area, such as hockey nets, volleyball poles, badminton birdies with rackets, tennis balls, pucks, baseball bats with mitts, and clusters of hurdles. A far off patch of green with goal posts at either end was Paimen's destination, and he led us across the courts towards the soccer field.

Once on the cheap, fake turf (the kind that is wicked scratchy if you land on it), the dragon stopped us. He turned around, dropping the ball and sitting his foot on it. Studying the crowd, he made a pondering face. "Hmm... how does teams of six sound? Would that be even?" A few nods and shrugs replied his question. "All right, I'll be the ref, so I'm not playing. Who's team captains?"

All eyes snapped to Sonic instantly. His cheeks flushed slightly red, and he smiled. "Guess I am." He stepped forward and next to Paimen, who looked him up and down with a noticeable sneer.

"Anybody else?"

Nobody spoke a word for what seemed like an eternity, but then someone piped up. "I'll do it, Paimen."

I groaned when I recognized the voice of Tristan, walking out from the crowd with Jax and Gregory close behind. He crossed his arms and sauntered over to the dragon, his buddies staying glued to their spots amongst the group. Taking the toothpick out of his studded lips, Tristan said impatiently, "Could we pick our teammates, now?"

I watched a vein in Paimen's neck work, but he forced a smile. "Go ahead."

Sonic chose first. "Shadow." Smiling, I took my place and stood by him, knowing we would be unstoppable. This shouldn't be too hard.

Tristan scowled at the kids. "Jax." The maroon echidna punched his albatross pal in the gut with a smirk, stalking to his leader. I rolled my eyes.

Sonic smiled tenderly. "Henna." A brunette, glossy-furred raccoon girl brightened like a lightbulb, her steps clumsy as she gracelessly came to us. I could tell she was lovesick, with Sonic or myself, I wasn't sure, though. I had an inkling that she was leaning more towards Sonic, as she stood uncomfortably close to him even when he tried to scoot away whenever she tried to get closer. She kept attempting to show her body off, especially around the chest of her low cutting, spaghetti strapped tank top.

"Gregory."

"Philip."

"Robert."

"Nerie."

And on and on it went, till only a few audience members were left. Tristan had chosen all of the humongous, scary looking oddballs that could snap somebody's spine with their bare hands, and Sonic had picked out the small, thinner guests, who were agile.

Paimen nodded once finished, ordering my team on one end of the field, Tristan's on the opposing. He stood at centerfield, soccer ball in his hand as he waited for us to decide on our positions.

Sonic gathered our team in a huddle. "Okay, everyone, we're gonna demolish these guys, right?"

"Right!" everyone replied simultaneously.

"Good! Now, I want Shadow as goalkeeper, Philip and Henna as defenders. Nerie, you're the only midfielder, do you think you can handle it?"

The emo seedrian with inky blue hair nodded once.

"Awesome. Garrett, you and I are going to be the forwards, got it?" Garrett, the morose husky, agreed with a shake of his head. Sonic straightened up. "Alright everybody, let's do this!"

We went to our positions, I walking all the way to the goal post and waiting for the game to begin. Henna and Philip had their backs to me, along with Nerie and Garrett. Sonic was standing centerfield, facing Tristan underneath the soccer ball that hovered above their heads. "FACE OFF!" Paimen shouted, and dropped the ball down. Sonic's lightning reflexes shot his foot forward, snatching the ball from Tristan's reach in a split second. Then he darted past him, Garrett struggling to track Sonic in all his swiftness. He ran in a random direction.

The forwards Zak and Tristan were confused, but sprinted to wherever they glimpsed a blue blur. They were going as fast as they could with their heavy tromps, but were too late when Sonic scored an easy goal by swerving around Jax and Gregory. Kandem, the goalkeeper - the guy with a huge scar over his messed up face - stomped his foot and grunted loudly, shaking his fist at the ball that lay innocently tucked between the net and scraping grass. After Sonic teased him about his temper, the bulky mongoose retrieved the ball, and threw it across the field to his twin brother Zak.

Zak received it, looking around for any sign of Sonic, who was heading for him rapidly. The mongoose passed the ball to Tristan, already on our side of the field and zipping towards me. I braced myself, crouching slightly and shuffling the left.

The coyote kicked the ball, thinking he had made it in too early. But, I being the blood brother of Sonic the hedgehog, snatched it and cradled it so I wouldn't lose it. I was grateful I'd worn a long sleeved jacket and jeans to break my fall and save my fur from tearing. Standing, I motioned with my head back to his side of the field.

"Go on," I chided, rolling the ball at super speed to Philip, the recovering drug addict. (I knew he was an addict because of his grisly complexion and terrible smell. He also had a low attention span during the teammate choosing, thus showing some brain damage.) Philip swiveled around, jogging to the edge of the goalie box and kicking the ball across the false grass at Nerie, who missed it because he was distracted by Jax making rude gestures at him. The ball went rolling freely, headed for out of the field.

A red shoe with one white strap and a gold buckle stopped it in the nick of time. Sonic's eyes flickered to me the moment he got the ball, pulling his leg back and nailing the thing into the air. It soared above the team's heads and into my awaiting hands, the eyes that gawked wide with astonishment.

I hurled the ball back to Sonic, smiling as he did a backflip. In near slow motion, my brother's foot collided with the black and white sphere, performing a magnificent bicycle-kick that blew the ball straight into the goalie's net, scalping the top of Kandem's head as it passed over him.

"Goal!" Paimen shouted. He started jumping excitedly.

Tristan swore loudly, the rest of his team groaning and scowling. Henna celebrated, clapping her hands and hopping up and down. Philip and Nerie cheered, while Garrett did a little dance. I myself, gave Sonic a thumbs up when he glanced to me.

_What a showoff..._

I ignored the hissing in my mind, determined only to not let the other team score a single goal.

Paimen walked onto the turf, grabbing the ball from Kandem and standing at the corner of the field. Taking a few steps back, he got a running dash and drop-kicked the ball high into the air. "Whoever gets that first has the right away!" he clamored, cupping his hands over his mouth so his voice would resonate over the field. "Play ball!"

_That's not even a soccer term!_

_Oh well._

Sonic immediately reacted, but Tristan did also. The rest of us stood dazed as we watched the ball plummet onto the grass, bouncing several feet upward once it hit the ground. Everyone became keen once Sonic caught up to the bounding thing, bumping it in front of him with his head. Tristan was close behind, his face a concrete resolute.

Sonic dribbled the ball between Zak's legs, causing the enemy forward to become confused and lose his balance. He landed on his butt, my brother leaving him to get past the next big lug that guarded the goal.

The midfielder was Robert, a crazily muscled fox with greasy hair. He attempted to tackle Sonic, but the hedgehog evaded by flicking the ball skyward and slinking around him. Once he found the ball again, Sonic chortled, "See ya!" Robert snarled.

Gregory and Jax were the semifinal repulsion, the defenders. The albatross grabbed his buddy by the dreadlocks, swinging him around in arcing three-sixties that were remarkably fast. Sonic, being the clever one, kicked the ball directly at the flinging maroon smudge that was Jax. His kick was so exact that the echidna cried out in pain when the soccer ball crunched into his nose. Gregory was surprised, and let go of him accidentally, and Jax was nothing more a second later than an imbedded dent within the bleachers. It wasn't pretty.

Sonic pressed onward, nearly to the goal. My teammates were hollering encouragement to him, my brother extremely sidetracked by what had happened with Jax and the kids bellowing at him. But I was watching someone else.

"Look out!" I cried.

Tristan bolted out of nowhere in front of the blue hedgehog, tripping him and stealing the ball. Sonic had been going a turbo speed, and the sudden stop caused him to flip forward in midair twice, skidding along the turf and knocking into Kandem's legs. He landed on top of him in a heap within the goal.

Laughing cruelly, Tristan turned around and sped down the field. Now it was his team's turn to be boastful. They hollered to him, making him get more endurance to go faster.

My team did absolutely nothing to take the ball from him once he crossed the center field line. "What are you doing?" I shrieked as he passed by Garrett, then Nerie, and afterward Philip and Henna, coming towards the goal with that natural sneer on his face. "Fine, if you won't do anything, then I will," I grumbled as Tristan neared my right, my competitive nature energizing.

I readied myself for his aim to the left, and stuck my arm out to block it from that side. He pulled his foot back, his sneer turning intense as he abruptly changed his velocity, kicking the ball to the right instead of the left. Tristan's shot was higher than normal, and the soccer ball smashed me straight on the right of my neck.

I collapsed instantly, my neck exploding in a raging torrent of pain. I couldn't move at all, but suffered in silence as stars bloomed in my sight. My breathing slowed, I felt a presence in the back of my head like I never had before.

Laughter mingled with the agony I was experiencing, the voice causing a splitting headache to develop along with it. I winced and tried to push away the rising vibrating that echoed awfully in my skull, but failing miserably. My whole body shuddered and my sight flashed deep purple as the voice spoke.

_Yes, yes, YES!_

_... _I couldn't even talk inside my own head.

Slowly, I got up, rage forming within my entire being. There was a soccer ball resting near me, that Tristan kid watching me with that typical expression of his. The game had paused.

I glared and stomped over to him, getting up close to his face. _"Do you have a death wish, Tristan Harris?" _I growled at him, shaking from anger. _"Because you deliberately insist upon irking me!"_

He went rigid, but recovered quickly. "I wanna see what pushes your buttons."

I raised my brows. "My buttons? You _really _want to see what _'pushes my buttons'?"_ I retorted acidly. "Well for starters, _you do!_" I proceeded to grab him by the material of his shirt, throwing him across the soccer field. He impacted with the hussy female and drug abuser head on, crumbling to the turf in shock.

I stepped over to the three of them, looking daggers and baring my sharpening teeth in a smile. "As for what else-"

"Hey!"

I froze and glanced to that blue hedgehog, standing only meters away. He looked a bit ragged, his clothing torn mildly and his fur tousled. Sonic - or whatever his name was - looked menacing. "What do you think you're doing?"

I faced him. "Teaching this despicable maggot some manners." I reached down and lifted Tristan up by the ears, his protests unheard over the grinding that filled my head. "He needs to be taught a proper lesson on being polite..." I raised my hand, whose fingertips had started to ooze blood.

"Not on my watch!" Sonic cried, leaping forward and wrapping his arms around my torso. I was forced to let go of Tristan, as the two of us were sent tumbling across the spiny ground violently. He was trying to get a hold of my neck, but I wasn't going to let that happen the minute I had gained freedom.

When Sonic was on top of me, I kicked him hard with both feet in the stomach. The breath was knocked out of him as he flew upward and landed hard elsewhere. The other soccer players and our audience screamed and made a mad dash for the doors. Paimen, Tristan, and his intimates remained.

Jumping to my feet, I scoured the gymnasium for Tristan, who I found rounding up his thug comrades as quick as he could. The trio of them jerked when Sonic hit the ground a foot away from their position, grumbling some words I couldn't understand as he sprung back up.

Sonic charged at extreme speed, crashing into my chest and sending us ripping through the soccer net and into the wood wall. A reverberating _thump_ sounded at our strike, snapping a few boards.

"Leave, you curse!" he jibed.

I grinned. "No, you'd miss me!"

_"Argh!" _Sonic's firm punch to my jaw greatly damaged my teeth and gums. Blood began to seep from between my lips as he held me against the wall. Glaring at him, I spat out a mouthful of blood into his eyes, my rival clapping his hands to his face and yowling in pain. He stumbled away, trying to clear his vision of my gore.

I smiled, crimson running down my lips as I pushed off the cracked wall, seizing his head and launching him away from the soccer field. He ended up destroying one of the basketball hoops, glass fracturing and raining down onto the polished flooring. I laughed triumphantly and came to him, my skin prickling.

Sonic was kneeling on the glass bits, his hands clutched around himself. "Did you seriously think that I could be repulsed?" I said. "I _am _bonded with the Ultimate Lifeform after all, Sonic Diago. You should have anticipated my power, and not assumed you were the stronger being!"

He uttered nothing.

"What's the matter? Can you not speak because you know you have been defeated?"

Sonic started to shake. He was actually _laughing._ "You may be pretty powerful, H, but you have flaws as well as I do."

I was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

He was suddenly on his feet, a jagged shard of glass in his bloody, ripped up hand. "You have weak points!" The hedgehog then sliced the sliver across the lump on the right of my neck.

The world instantaneously became black, and I was unconscious.

**Well? Tell me what you think! (EDIT-ED!)**


	6. On Deaf Ears

**Hello again! Thank you SO much for all those amazing reviews, it motivated me to get this chapter done faster! Bonus for you, and me! :D **

**I hope you guys like it, it's longer than the previous one, but a little less epic. :( Oh well, at least it's out! Also, don't consider Sonic and Shadow's relationship yaoi, it's simply brotherly and friendly affection. I pray my OC's aren't boring you guys! *crosses fingers***

**And for the sixth time, pardon my errors. You've done pretty good with it so far. :P**

**Enjoy.**

I awoke with the mother of all headaches. Stirring weakly upon the bed I was lying on, I blinked the blur from my eyes. It was dimly lit wherever I was, with a cool breeze blowing from a fan somewhere. The faint whir was the only sound besides the thundering booms inside my head, and everything was still. The walls were a pale tan, and a blobby, brown rectangle stood to my left. I noted that that blob was a dresser.

Flopping my head over towards the nightstand, I grimaced at the time. 11:15. I had been out for more than four hours. My eyes traveled around the alarm clock, where my ear buds and iPod sat, along the key to my dorm, and a glass of water with two tylenol tablets beside it. I smiled. How considerate.

I _needed _those pills for the pain. Upon my first attempt of sitting up, I yelped and crumpled back onto the sheets. My neck was throbbing angrily, a terrible burning sensation sweeping my entire body. "Ugck..." I muttered some wild gibberish to myself, my own words not understandable.

After I rubbed the pulsing lump beneath my fur, I tried again. Using the bedside table for stability, I managed to heave myself upright, leaning my head and back against the headboard and wincing. Reaching out to the glass, I grasped its cool surface firmly, mindful of my shaking wrist as I lifted it to my lips. Taking a mouthful, I exhaled as the water's coldness wet my dry throat and mouth, pleasantly chilling me. Then I swallowed the tylenol gratefully. I prayed it would kick in fast as I chugged the rest of the water down.

I glanced around my now-recognizable dorm. All was as I had left it this morning, despite the curtains being drawn shut. I also found a portable air conditioner plugged into a socket in a corner, which was humming. My gaze floated about more, and I got a look at my clothing then. I held in a groan.

My jeans were torn, as were my jacket and gloves. Dots of blood were spattered here and there, but nothing too major. A small, glistening object on my shoulder caught my eye as it twinkled in the sun from the window, and I picked it up with two fingers.

It looked like a glass splinter, transparent and thick. Making a face, I pondered whatever this piece of glass would be on my shirt for. I couldn't remember anything, no matter how hard I made an effort... it all became blank after Tristan's soccer ball made its mark on my neck-

Wait...

_Oh no._

Leaping up from the bed, I hustled into the bathroom, full out ignoring the screeches of agony that my body sent out. Clambering through the doorway, I slipped on the tile because I wasn't wearing my shoes. Landing roughly on my hands and knees, I grunted and dealt with the stinging, slapping my hands on the countertop and pulling myself to my socked feet shakily. I faced the mirror with fear.

I was relieved at my reflection: exhausted, fur untidy, a tad pale, with a dark bruise lining my jaw. Although I was curious as to how I got that black mark over my chin, I decided to let it slide, and surveyed the sore side of my neck. I discovered a skillfully placed bandage around it, a damp, crimson spot in the middle. A bit suspicious, I lowered the binding down just enough to reveal the thin gash that was shiny with blood. No wonder I had woken so awfully. I'd been stabbed!

I slid it back and closed the bathroom door with my foot. Taking off my jacket, I found I was relatively unharmed from whatever I had been involved in. I struggled to push my mind to recall anything, but all that came up was useless fog. Exasperatedly sighing, I zipped up my jacket once it was back on my body, leaving the bathroom for the bedroom and stopping in front the dresser.

Swinging it open, I scanned the dozens of clothes I had packed. I couldn't go to lunch looking like I was, people would suspect something was up... unless they already had. Neglecting the anxiety that bubbled inside me, I grabbed a white button-up shirt and regular faded jeans, not wanting to be too flashy. Then I changed out of my now-tattered grey jacket and denims, tossing them into a bottom drawer and forcing myself to forget about them.

But, how could I forget something I couldn't remember?

Once in the fresh getup, I returned to the bathroom and combed my hair. Feeling like I had just done this task, I hurried and made myself presentable. I couldn't quite fix the shady circles under my eyes, or the bruise on my face, but twisting the Rings around my wrists and ankles made me look more lively. They glowed for a few seconds, then dimmed to their natural color. I frowned. The gleaming light they cast melted my inner darkness away, however briefly. But, as day fades to night, the ink that overshadowed my soul reemerged and took me once again. I squirmed and coped with the writhing feeling within my head.

Soft knocking on my dorm's door broke the silence. Cringing at the thought of Arcon or some major staff member coming to scream at me for something I couldn't recall, I cautiously approached the door and opened it a crack. I poked my head out. "Yes?"

"You're awake," Sonic said.

I swung the door wider, my eyes growing large at his appearance once I glimpsed him standing before me. Sonic was completely covered in scars and cuts, most of them bleeding fairly. His clothing was different: a short sleeved, white button up jacket with pockets on the chest, and an old pair of dark jeans, with his favorite running shoes. I saw stains of dried blood on his eyelids, which were also barely lining the tops of his cheekbones. Despite his shocking aspect, Sonic looked happy and healthy, his bright green eyes spirited. "Hey, we match!" He smiled, showing off his outfit.

I ignored his comment. "What happened to you?"

He looked down at himself, shrugging blithely. "Naw, don't worry about me. I heal fast. These used to be a lot worse." Sonic gestured to his bloodied fur. "But the real concern is you. How are you feeling?"

"Like somebody just dropped a piano on my head," I complained, crossing my arms.

He chuckled. "Understandable. I _did _clock you on the jaw and run you into a wall... breaking the wood boards..." Sonic sheepishly grinned, looking at me.

I made a face. "I don't remember that. Come to think of it I hardly remember anything at all."

"Well..." he trailed off, the silence that followed after finally bringing the enigma together. I abruptly felt hollow, and as guilty as all could get at.

I gasped. "Did I...?"

Sonic's expression was enough to answer: _yes._

Slumping against the door frame, I closed my eyes in sorrow. _No... no... _My eyes flipped open. "Why didn't you stop me?" I demanded, getting up close to his face, suddenly furious.

"I tried! Really!" Sonic quickly defended. He began talking nervously fast. "I mean, you were mid into it, you never actually _did_ it. I was surprised you didn't, actually, you were just threatening, and-"

_"DO YOU REALIZE WHAT I COULD HAVE DONE?"_ I screamed at him, my voice raging and strained. It echoed around the hallway. Sonic backed away as I approached with my teeth bared and glare wicked. _"I COULD HAVE HURT SOMEBODY!"_

"Shadow! Calm down!"

_"I CAN'T HURT ANYBODY ELSE, I JUST CAN'T!" _I grabbed Sonic by the shoulders, shoving him against the hallway wall violently. My hands got tighter as I felt more and more wrath. I couldn't control it, and began to shake.

Sonic looked apprehensively to my knuckles, which were bulging through my gloves and cracking with my death grip on his shoulders. "Sh-shadow... you're hurting me..."

I froze and stared into nothing blankly, slowly relaxing my fingers. My arms dropped limply to my sides, and I swayed on my feet. "I can't hurt anybody else..." I mumbled breathlessly, eyesight fuzzing out. "I just can't..." Then I found myself tipping.

Sonic's gentle hand caught me, his smile tender. "Do you need a hug?" he said softly, then he let me collapse onto him without an answer.

I felt homesick and terribly alone. "I hate this..." I whimpered pathetically.

He sighed sadly. "I do too."

After a moment of wordlessness, Sonic got me back onto my feet. "You all right?"

"I've been better." I muttered, ears wilting.

He gave me a sympathetic pat on the head. "You know what you need?" Sonic asked promptly. I looked at him, mildly inquisitive. "Lunch. C'mon, they're serving chicken and lettuce wraps today." Without my consent, Sonic walked over to my door and closed it, beginning down the hall towards the main plaza. "You coming?" he called over his shoulder.

I was still standing near the wall, but decided to comply. "Yeah." I caught up to him quickly. Still feeling a bit glum, I didn't say much as we walked down the hall.

Sonic noticed. "It's all right, Shadow. Nobody was seriously hurt."

"But you were."

He shrugged once more, simpering incredulously. "Eh, I'll get over it. I've got insane recovery skills."

I studied him. "Like how you were running a day after I broke your foot?"

His smile faded. "Yep. I remember that. You were irate when you threw that bowling ball..."

I chuckled, reminiscing that dark day at the bowling alley. "When am I ever not irate? I'm always moody, nowadays."

"Well, when you beat me on our Wii you're happy, or when you listen to your favorite songs, go to the beach, or get your favorite ice cream-"

A loud noise interrupted our conversation. I started laughing at my stomach that had growled noisily. "I guess I really do need lunch. Why did you have to bring up the ice cream?"

"You need more than lunch, you need food. You're always hungry, man!" Sonic chuckled, making fun of my enhanced appetite.

"Yeah, so what? At least I have variety, I'll take anything that's given to me. All you could eat in the past were those putrid chili dogs!"

Sonic flushed pale, his eyes glossing over.

Bingo_._

"Chili dogs..." he uttered, going stiff except for his legs. "I'll never even _smell_ those wretched things again."

I threw my head back and laughed some more. "That was hilarious."

"No it wasn't!"

"Yes it was."

"No it wasn't!"

"Yes, it was."

Sonic glared at me softly. "You're a jerk, you know that?"

I smirked, flicking my ears around proudly. "Yep. I know, many have said it. Rouge, Amy, Knuckles, Tails, Chuck, Sally, Rotor..." I named off a few. "I've just got that personality, I guess."

"No, you've got that curse," he corrected in a low voice. "You're a good person, Shadow, you just need to get past what's on the inside to bring out who you really are. Believe me, I know."

"But it's who I am," I frowned at him. "And I can never change that."

"There's no sense in giving up just yet."

"I've been trying for years, Sonic! Why would this curse end now, at freaking Artemis' Camp for Troubled Teens?" I asked loudly, the pain of what I was afflicted with clearly written on my face.

He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. Sonic bowed his head and tried to think of reasons to answer my question, coming up blank. He sighed. "I don't know."

I scowled cruelly. "That's what I thought."

Reminded just of what I was facing, I stopped talking. Sonic did too, looking a little ashamed and dragging his feet slightly. He did that when he was down. I refrained myself from doing anything rash... again...

We walked in silence out of B hall, stepping into the plaza which was buzzing with chatter. Once we entered, mostly everyone who was fronting us looked over, their expressions either humored or frightened. Several pointed to me, and the ones that hadn't noticed us were informed by their friends our presence. I felt uneasy, and vulnerable like I had the day before as I dodged their glances. Sonic seemed content when he disregarded their stares, waltzing past each of them cheerfully and heading through F hall.

Sonic strolled into the cafeteria, halting and searching the perimeter cautiously. I stopped and looked at him. "What are you doing?"

"That Torran guy was screaming my ear out when you were unconscious," he replied, eyes still shifting around. "I think he hates me, and I don't want to go deaf just yet, so I'm looking for him."

"Why was he mad at you? Aren't you perfect?"

He smiled contritely, jabbing his thumb at one of the serving counters. "I'll tell ya over lunch. Come on." Then he set off towards it rapidly.

Following him, we quickly grabbed our trays and and the whole wheat tortilla wraps on them. I indulged in the smell of the fresh lettuce, the cheese, chicken, and heavy scent of ranch dressing, along with the sweet aroma of apple that came with the lunch, and the damp scent of bottled water. I nodded, grateful that this food was decent.

Back on South Island, we lived with Sonic's uncle (and guardian), Charles Diago. He liked spicy dishes, coffee, dried fruits, and other distasteful junk. He also couldn't cook for his life, so we mostly ate microwaved Mexican food every dinnertime. I was getting a little bit sick of fajitas and refried beans by this point. These meals at Artemis were a smooth relief from all of that.

Picking out an empty table, Sonic and I seated ourselves. I immediately snatched up my wrap, digging my teeth into it hungrily. I felt a bit ravenous, but paid no heed since I was near starving. Chewing pleasurably, I washed the chunk of tortilla, chicken, and lettuce down with a gulp of water, gasping after I guzzled half of the jug in barely a few seconds.

Sonic's lips were still floating above the opening of his wrap. "Geez, slow down, animal! You're gonna get the hiccups if you eat that fast."

I shook my head and polished the apple skin on my sleeve. "Psh, that's the least of my problems." I bit into it and savored the taste; apples were my favorite fruit. I swallowed, so as not to talk with my mouth full. Maria had taught me that that was bad manners, and I couldn't let her teachings down. "I'm hungry, that's all that matters at the moment."

"With those monstrous cravings I'd say it does." His comment rendered us both snickering beyond restraint moments later. I almost choked mid-swallow.

"So," I brought up after a few minutes into munching the delicious lunch. "What were you going to tell me about the Torran dude?"

He gulped a lump of apple. "Oh yeah! Well, in the gym, y'know, after you got plastered with that soccer ball, we uh..." Sonic faded out, glancing around. He seemed nervous as he scratched his head. Eventually his eyes wandered over my shoulder as I waited for his response. He went rigid. "Oh crap."

"What?" I almost turned.

"No! Don't look now, but here comes your persistent counselor." A firm hand on my forehead stopped me from twisting.

I scrunched my brows. "Great." He let go as I heard her approach, footsteps relatively displeased and sharp. I prepared myself, swiveling on my chair to face her, and smiled charmingly. "Hello, Nic-"

She slapped her lunch tray next to me harshly, her nostrils flaring. "A basketball hoop?" she snapped, sticking her nose inches from my face. "You wrecked a basketball hoop? That's Artemis Camp property, we paid for that! How could you?"

I whipped on Sonic. _"A basketball hoop?" _I repeated, finally realizing why we were covered in cuts and glass shards. "During the game I blew up a basketball hoop?" He shrunk lower on his seat, ears drooping as he smiled worriedly. "How on Mobius did I manage to freakin' do that?"

Sonic raised his hands when he spoke, waving them to demonstrate what happened. "Well, you threw me, see... then-"

I banged my head on the table. "Ugh, this is only my _second day._ I've already gotten yelled at for a fight in the cafeteria, possibly injured the principal, demolished hall decor, and killed innocent sport's equipment. I'm on a roll, today!" My sarcasm was soaring.

Nicole was shocked. "You hurt Mr. Dekker?"

"No! Not in a sense. I mean, I could have, but-"

"Oh my gosh, Shadow, you're out of control! This is only your second day!"

"I know!" I called, not liking to repeat myself. "That's what I said! If you were a good counselor, and actually listened to what I was telling you, maybe I wouldn't be such a troublemaker!"

"Well excuse me, it's not _my_ fault _you_ ended up like this!"

I stood up, fierceness shocking my voice. I had had it. "Guess what, Nicole, it's not my fault either. I didn't choose to become this way, it was at fate's hand that I am what I am right now. If you don't like it, then I suggest you leave before you get hurt. Because when I lose it, you're going to see the ugly side of me."

Her face was expressionless, but she replied with a shaky tone. "You better be grateful I'm compassionate, Shadow Robotnik, otherwise that would have scared me. I never abandon anyone that needs my help." With that, Nicole sat herself down in the chair next to mine, uncapping her water bottle and taking a drink. Silence followed as I continued to be cross.

I seated myself again, feeling ferocious as I tore the skin off my fruit with only my teeth. Sonic was trying to finish his meal inconspicuously, while Nicole irritatedly consumed hers. I was merely picking at my food and ripping it apart without mercy, utterly vexed that she had even bothered to let those words escape her lips. They were shameful, and really hurt me internally.

In time, my chagrin settled into woe, and I simmered down.

"So, um," Nicole said after that extensive silence. "What are you guys planning on doing for activities today?"

Sonic and I exchanged glances. "Definitely not sports," we replied together. I didn't want to relive the nightmare in the gym, and I could tell he wasn't planning on it either. I shuddered at the thought of myself rampaging the tournaments with uncontrollable bloodlust, triumphing my enemies _and _allies. I used to be an ambitious, friendly guy, but this was just getting ridiculous.

She brightened somewhat. "Well there's lots of other things to do besides those. We've got a library, social clubs, chess events, leisure pool, yoga, art, and some other stuff you two might like."

I snorted. _"Yoga? _I'd never be caught dead in a yoga classroom."

"But it's fun! And relaxing and strengthening-"

"Seriously, Nicole, can you imagine Shadow in a yoga suit?" Sonic snickered at her. "You'd sooner see the apocalypse."

I pointed at the blue hedgehog immediately after he said that. "I almost made that happen once, so it's true!"

He clapped me on the back and laughed. "Ah yeah!"

Nicole giggled vaguely, resting her chin on her hand and looking at us. "Then what do you prefer to pass the time with?"

Sonic thought. "Well I like libraries, but I couldn't stay there for hours on end."

"Me neither," I stated, already feeling myself falling asleep. I had developed a loathing for libraries after Uncle Chuck made me stay all day in the dusty old building at Sunrise Town. There I studied, and studied, and studied my eyes out, my nose literally getting stuck in a book's pages as I nodded into it and closed it while snoozing. I'll admit my research session was horrid, but the report I wrote after the daunting task was completed was astounding. My English teacher gave me an A plus plus, with extra points for creativity.

My brother continued on with his list. "Social clubs, bad idea. Chess is just... _stupid._ Leisure pool, I hate water. We already discussed yoga..." Sonic's voice tapered and he tapped his lip. He smiled and squinted his eyes up at the ceiling. "Art it is, then."

"Really? You guys wanna do some art class?" Nicole was elated.

I nodded. "Why not? Art's fun, and I'm pretty good at it."

Sonic agreed with, "Mm-hmm."

My counselor toothily grinned and jumped to her feet. "Then if you both are done let's go! What are we waiting for?"

We each scooped up our vacant trays and set them onto the collection counters. I was excited and felt pretty good about this activity as we made our way into the hall. I mean, what bad could happen in an art studio? This was bound for success... unless the directors were psychotic extremists.

_Like that's ever going to happen, _I assured in my mind swiftly.

Then it was quiet.

..._Hello?_

By this time the three of us were past the plaza and halfway down G hall. I stopped mid-stride, vision blurring out as I tried to find that existence that usually drifted around my skull. Nothing showed up but blank thoughts of my past. I pressed against my temple with my palm, squeezing my eyelids shut and envisioning the voice.

_Where are you?_

Once again, I was speaking to nobody but myself. I opened my eyes in void fear.

_What's happening?_

Sonic had halted, returning to me and waving his hand in front of my face briskly. "Hey, Shadow, you alright?" Nicole was at his shoulder, confused, yet troubled.

I jerked back to reality. "What? Oh yeah, I'm just fine. Thanks for asking." I stuffed my hands into my pockets as casually as I could. "Should we carry on?"

My counselor and brother resumed walking a bit doubtfully, Nicole leading the way. Sonic held back, striding by my side and straining to keep her from listening to our conversation. "Is there something wrong?"

I bit my lip. "It's not there."

Sonic gasped quietly. "It isn't?"

"No. I can't hear or feel it anymore..."

He stared at me observantly. "Shadow, this is serious!"

My jaw set. "I know it is. But I don't trust the situation. This has happened before."

"It has?" His ears flicked upward in surprise.

"Yeah. Remember the time when Chuck decided I was too dangerous to be around? When you guys deserted me? I became dormant for a few days, then was more active than what was healthy."

He frowned. "You never told me about that."

"Well, you were on the mainland _and _off the phone, email, and messenger plans, so how could I have?" I tested. "Anyway, I never said anything because I don't like to get you worried."

"Don't talk like that, dude. No matter how many times you scare me half to death, I'll always be there no matter what to fix things," he boldly stated, clenching a fist. "You don't have to keep secrets from me."

I brushed a glance to him. "I've kept many secrets from you, ones that are too dark for even me." Sonic's eyes became a tad less brilliant.

Nicole had stopped in front of a plaster-caked door. Her eyes were hard and skeptical as we approached. "We're here." Reaching out for the filthy doorknob, Nicole turned it and opened the grimy entrance, allowing us to step inside first.

The first thing I noticed once in the art studio was that the air was filled with dust particles. _Ceramic_ dust particles to be precise. The place smelled highly of paints, water, and paste, along with the faintest hint of pleasant odor that Mr. Dekker's office and Sonic's dorm had had. The chamber itself had a low ceiling, with disproportional windows that poured endless sunlight into the room. Hundreds of shelves dotted three of the barely-recognizable wood walls, cluttered with rolls of canvas, brushes, ink, pens, pencils, sculptures, pots, and notebooks. On the remaining wall was an enormous whiteboard with black marker scribbles all over it. The gritty floor was splattered out with messy spills of all sorts of colors, giving the impression that whoever ran this place tripped frequently with large buckets of paint. Little desks sat in neat rows of five by five, their surfaces also tainted with disorderly art supplies.

The only sounds in the room when we entered were the chants of, "Rock, paper, scissors!" which came from two guys that sat at an overstocked desk that laid in a corner.

Both of their heads snapped over once Nicole, Sonic, and I came into the art studio. I found the pair of hedgehogs quite strange as I inspected them both.

The one sitting on the left of the piled desk had jet black fur with golden slashes in it. His eyes were a burning orange, and the spines on the back of his head were curving like Sonic's, but cut extremely short. Bangs that barely covered his left eye were a shiny tawny, spiky, and halfway reaching to his tanned skin on his face. He wore a black, buckle up jacket over a yellow shirt hugging his torso, and on his long legs were gray slacks, though nothing too fancy. He was leaning back in a beat up chair, a pair of headphones resting around his neck, and a chain choker at his throat. What I could see of his shoes were simply ordinary running cleats, with white toes and yellow heels. His gloves were black, with worn out holes at the knuckles. He looked threateningly at us with an ominous smirk on his lips.

His friend however, was a totally different story. This hedgehog was very monochromatic, with deep grey fur, and almost matching skin tone, save for a touch lighter. His ears stuck out of the pale blue beanie he was wearing, which obscured the rest of his hair and/or spines from view. He was dressed in a black, sleeveless top, with odd sapphire symbols curling around it. Grey jeans over cerulean shoes with black stripes covered the lower half of his body. The cuffs of his dark, fingerless gloves were black with a cobalt line around the middle, barely reaching the edge of his wrist bone. A chill ran through me as I was studied with the hedgehog's dull blue eyes.

He livened evidently and walked around the desk towards us, the first hedgehog flailing his arms to keep balance on his chair. The monochromatic hedgehog met us and smiled happily, raising his arms in greeting. "Hello, pupils! Welcome to art. My name is James, and I will be your instructor for the day." His sonorous voice was sophisticated, tranquil, and genuine.

"C'mon man, they're just here to draw, you're not their teacher," his friend called. "This place isn't even that cool." _His _youthful voice was obnoxious, loud, and boastful.

James sighed heavily. "And that is DJ. He is more of an assistant, than a professor."

"An awesome, sexy assistant, might I add!" DJ said loudly, trying to impress Nicole. She tittered and blushed at his blurt. James frowned and rolled his eyes.

The grey hedgehog shook his head vexatiously. "Anyway, there are many tools you may experiment with. We have acrylics, pastels, chalk, oil paints, and charcoal if you desire create something stunning. Or we have notepads if you wish to just sketch. Feel free to try everything, there are plenty of supplies for everyone." James paused after his discussion with us, smirking as the door opened and more guests entered the studio. "Have fun. If you will excuse me..." James stepped past us and to the new kids, reciting the same speech to them in an inviting tone.

I glanced to Sonic, who's mouth was pressed into a tight line. He looked uncomfortable and alert, but also a little anxious. "Shall we?"

I shrugged nonchalantly. "Whatever."

With my counselor in the lead, we each chose what we wanted to work with. I simply grabbed a graphite pencil and a clean notepad, while Nicole picked out a rainbow box of pastel chalk with a blank sheet of neon green card stock. Sonic on the other hand, reached for the package of charcoal sticks, smiling deviously and taking a wide slip of white paper. Once acquainted with our tools, our trio found a group of tables and began drawing.

I didn't have in my mind a picture of what I wanted to do, so I just started tracing a medium sized circle. After penciling a few horizontal scores through it, I fleshed out the profile of the face and lightly brushed in the hair around the forehead. Gently curving the lines, I made the locks seem soft by adding some shading below them, then darkened the bangs and created the headband with a single stroke of the lead. Bending four lines for the eyelids, rubbing them black, and then adding the circular lenses, I finally realized who I was subconsciously drawing. Filling the pupils and leaving the light in the eyes white, I scribbled on the irises and delicately dimmed the finished eyes to a black and white-seeming blue. I didn't glance over my work and began on the intricate nose.

Sonic was shoving his charcoal into the paper, its rubbing annoying on the table through his canvas. He grunted as he pushed harder, determined to make his drawing extra, extra dark.

Nicole was quietly humming to herself while she smeared the pastel on the card stock. Dozens of colors were laid out by her twitching elbow, ready for when she wanted to incorporate them into her picture. The current color she was jotting at the moment was a fervent yellow, which looked to be a part of the sky she was drawing in.

I returned to my sketching, ignoring the talk and ruffling of other guests as they decided upon what they wanted to use for their art works. It was rather noisy, but I tuned it out and focused on what I was doing. I had completed Maria's nose, all I had to do now was design her lips.

Lips were very difficult. I tried countless times to get her mouth just right. It never worked out. The bow of her upper lip would be too steep, or her bottom lip was too big. The distance between them didn't always work out, nor did the shine I was trying to make prominent.

Sighing and scowling at the lipless Maria Robotnik, I drummed my fingers on the desk, disgruntled. She was so perfect in my memories... I had thought I would be able to remember her flawless face from the innumerable times I gazed upon it as a child. I felt a rush of heat through me in fear.

Had I begun to forget?

I _couldn't_ forget. I couldn't forget _her._ She was as important to me as breathing and sleep. She would never be forgotten. Never.

I motivated myself by playing in my head all of the wonderful times Maria and I had spent together. I reminisced with a smile turning off the gravity in the ARK, dumping liquid nitrogen on Gerald's laboratory floors, and hours spent cooking blueberry pancakes for cravings in the late reaches of night. Oh, how I missed her...

I tried again to get her lips exactly the way I wanted them... still failing. Now I was completely unsatisfied, and a bit ashamed. Seizing a wad of kneaded eraser I wiped the faded lines away. I set that down and drew the basic line for her lips, which was extremely light. I realized that the tip of my pencil was stubbed from darkening and shading. I needed to find a sharpener.

I stood, ready to scope out this explosion of art crap for one. The second I turned around, I exclaimed in shock. James was standing not an inch from me, his arms behind his back, subdued eyes scrutinizing me. "Did you need something, Shadow Robotnik?"

_He knows my name too..._

I exhaled a few times to calm my breathing. "Uh, just a pencil sharpener," I replied, still creeped out. I held my pencil up and slid myself in front of the sketchbook on the desk. "If you can get me one."

He smiled, though it was a touch spiteful. "Certainly." Snatching the pencil from my hands, he swiveled around and walked down the aisle towards the overpopulated desk he was sitting at before. "Join me, if you will."

I did so, standing apathetically as he disappeared below the heaped table. I noticed DJ was doodling with crayons on a piece of printer paper. His drawing was morbid. Stick figures wielding daggers, guns, and axes were killing each other on the page, a few of the cartoons laying on the floor with X's for eyes and pools of red below them. Some of them were bleeding. He had scribed on the top margin in blue: _None shall survive!_

I furrowed my brows and looked away when DJ's orange eyes shifted to me, glittering with intimidation. I listened to him chuckle amusedly as James appeared once again, an electric sharpener in his grasp. He pushed aside a brass model of some large, spiked figure, and replaced its spot. "There you go."

Without saying anything, I slid the end of my pencil into the sharpener, holding it tight against the speedy whirring and grinding. A small red light on the surface of the device flickered off seconds later, the green light above it flashing on and the droning of the machine ceased.

I pulled out my pencil, which was sharp as a tack. Satisfied this time, I looked to James. "Thank you."

"You are welcome."

Offering him one last awkward smile, I headed back to my desk, quickly getting back to work. I shivered and tried to keep the pencil steady, Maria's lips actually looking nice, but a bit squiggly. After rubbing my shoulders to get some warmth, I cleaned up her pristine features and carried on with inserting shading and shadows on her face.

_Snap_. "Darn it!"

I glanced over at Sonic, whose charcoal stick had broken in half by the sheer magnitude of the force he was applying on it. The entirety of his paper was pure black, and I noticed with wonder that the blue hedgehog's arm from fingertip to elbow was covered. "Holy crap..." I muttered.

He grinned as he surveyed his arm. "I know, right? I've got some mad talent with this stuff, don't you think?" I took a look at his picture, which really wasn't a picture at all, but a paper utterly blasted with charcoal and a flawless black.

"Wow," I marveled sarcastically. "That is one glorious work of art, right there."

He pulled out his chair and stood, smirking. "I'm just warming up! Then I'll give you something even better! Just so you can recognize my talents. Be right back, I've just had an epiphany!"

Holding his burned arm (it was believable) out to the side, Sonic left and walked up to James, who was surveying the other guests while they experimented with supplies. "Is there a sink around here?" he asked.

"Of course. Just beyond those cubbies, and through the door. You cannot miss it." He pointed past a few shelves, revealing that there was a secret door. It was painted several different colors, which were peeling off one another to reveal the hue that was beneath the top coatings. Sonic thanked him and followed his directions, vanishing from the art studio. James resumed studying the art, frowning on some and giving pointers, while others he made faces at and didn't bother to speak some encouragement.

I felt someone's gaze on me, and turned my head to Nicole. She had stopped rubbing in her pastels, and was watching me. "What?" I questioned in bother.

"What were you more active in than what was healthy?"

I grimaced. "You heard that, huh?"

"Well you were whispering kind of loudly. I'm just curious what it was you were discussing. Why did you go dormant, and _why_ were you too dangerous for Chuck and Sonic to be around?"

I scowled acidly. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

She laughed once harshly. "Actually I would. If I don't get this information from you, I'm guaranteed to lose my job."

I focused on Maria's portrait. Her eyes were pleading, almost urging me to say the truth. I dug my teeth into my lip.

_But I can't! Nobody must know! _I felt more mental than usual, but at least nobody was talking back to me.

Where was H's voice? I kind of missed his company-

Wait, no I didn't! _Gah!_

"You did it again." Nicole's voice broke my thoughts.

"Mm? Did what?"

"You look off into the distance and hardly move, and your face seems pained." I noted then that she was a very observant girl. "Only when someone talks to you do you snap out of it." Nicole brushed her bangs from her eyes. "Why do you do that and _what_ is that?"

"Hmph!" I turned away and drew the layers in Maria's hair, trying to distract myself from Nicole's nagging questions. "It's called a brain nap. You can thank Sonic for that term."

"Brain nap? I'm pretty sure you're just having a schizophrenia episode."

I halfway got to my feet. "I am not a schizophrenic!" I raised my voice partially. Some heads turned. "I'm just... different." I settled back into my chair.

She smiled smugly. "So the truth is finally confirmed. If you don't have schizophrenia, insomnia, or multiple personality disorder, then what _do_ you have?"

I face-palmed. This was a setup. She was trying to get me to confess! I'd have to be quick if I wasn't going to let anything spill. "Uh... I can't exactly tell you-"

"Why not?" she grunted. "Why is it such a secret?"

I slammed my hands on the desk, catching her by surprise. "Because if you had what I have, you would want to keep it to yourself, and tell not a soul!"

She went silent for a meager second... not long enough, in my book. "...and what exactly is that?"

"Ugh, will you just drop it?" I grumbled with my head in my hands.

"I already told you, I could lose my job if you don't tell me anything!"

I glared at her wickedly. "See if I care, Nicole Zareck!"

She frowned and crossed her arms, sticking her tongue out at me irritably. I smirked and looked back as Sonic returned with clean arms and a fresh piece of paper. Taking his seat and not noticing our glowers, he began on the second picture, emptily peering at the canvas.

Nicole shot me a squinted stare above Sonic's spines, mouthing, "I'm not finished yet!"

I sneered at her and reverted my attention to my brother, who was sketching a pair of delicate white wings mechanically. I was interested, wondering what his 'epiphany' had to do with angels. Gentle feathers were completely covering the wings, and Sonic captured them fluffily. I almost reached out and touched them, but he abruptly altered their soft appearance by adding slumping, heavy lines that dripped. I stared in awe as he bloodied up the feathers, placing spots of ichor that trickled down into a puddle below the wings. Where the shoots of the wings met, Sonic flipped the charcoal stick horizontally, sweeping it against the paper on its side. He repeatedly swung the stick in quick circles, drawing a smoke-like silhouette. He made it zig-zag and drift like haze, the edges getting lighter the further away they came from the pitch black center of smog. Both Nicole and I gaped.

The final touches to the picture were mourning eyes and mouths. They surrounded the bloody wings; clusters of lamenting expressions that seemed to weep. Each face had despair in every stroke of charcoal, making the picture dismal and frightening at the same time. I felt gloomy and shuddered, but not from being cold, but from actual dismay at the sight of his latest work of art. Nicole was pale as she stared with wide eyes.

Sonic gasped and flinched, almost like reentering his body from somewhere afar. He was breathing rather swiftly, looking a little buzzed as he stared around. "Man... what happened? I got inspiration, and then..." - Sonic found what he had just created – "Holy Mobius!" He gawked at his drawing that lay before him on the table. "Did I...?" One glimpse of the charcoal on his fingertips was a dead giveaway.

The three of us were flabbergasted as we goggled. "What does it mean?" I whispered.

Sonic shook his head forebodingly. "I don't know."

All who were in the classroom jumped as something thudded against the entrance door. James and DJ were immediately on their feet as it blew open, Blitz charging in and stumbling over his feet. His fur was windblown, and seemed to be striped further with red streaks. Quickly slamming the door closed, he glanced around the art studio, terrified. Blitz spotted DJ and James, sprinting to them and shrieking, "The boss is onto me, I gotta hide!"

"Do you need the back room, sir?" James asked, his body going strangely stiff.

He panted in response, "Yes." Reaching up to his throat, Blitz tore off the eye pendant and threw it to DJ. "Keep this under management. Don't you do anything to it at all, or I'll rip you apart limb by limb!"

DJ nodded vigorously, his hand clenched around the necklace tightly. An odd glow emanated from it as he slid it into his pocket. "Yes, sir."

"Good. You!" He stabbed a finger at James. "Behave yourself!" James agreed rigidly, slowly tightening his fist till it cracked.

With that, Blitz rushed through a door and out of sight.

Everything went quiet, most of us looking around confusedly and trying to make sense of what had happened. Who was the boss? Arcon? Why was Blitz afraid of him?

My questions were answered as the door crashed off its hinges and blasted into the room. Several girls squealed as Mr. Dekker stomped into the art studio. His golden eyes were on fire, green ears curled back in anger. Arcon came inside, nastily snarling and approaching James and DJ. He heaved the huge, heavy desk several feet from his path out of his ire. _"Blitzy boy? Where are you?"_

They stepped up against the wall, clearly scared of the principal. "I know you're hiding him, you morons!" he hollered. When they said nothing, Arcon widened his fingers menacingly like claws. _"WHERE IS HE?"_

DJ cleared his throat, pointing a shaky finger over Mr. Dekker's shoulder. He turned around, anger melting slightly. "Oh, children." He steepled his fingers and smiled falsely. "I am glad you all attended this activity, but I think it's time for you to switch to something else to do the rest of the day."

Nobody moved.

_"NOW!"_

Instantly, everyone picked up their art and scrambled out of their chairs. Arcon glared us all down expectantly as we exited the studio silently and as quickly as possible.

I was determined to get out of there fast, cringing at the image of what Arcon was going to possible do to Blitz when he found him.

**A bit of an abrupt ending, but stay tuned for the next chapter, everybody! Woo! xD**

**(EDITED! Woot!)**


	7. What Lurks in the Dark

**Holy crap. I haven't updated in MONTHS. That is embarrassing! :( I'm very sorry to all of you readers. I didn't mean to grow to lazy, but... my interests like to change. **

**Anyway, I realize I've gotten more fans for this story, so I decided to update it. This chapter is relatively long, but packed with action. I hope you enjoy it. **

**Please ignore the typos and errors. I stayed up pretty late about four nights over Thanksgiving Break just so I could give this to you. -_- zzz (sleepy)**

**Enjoy! Chapter Seven: What Lurks in The Dark**

After being hustled out of the art studio, Nicole sniffed irritably. "Well that was rude. I didn't think Arcon was that kind of guy."

I was about to respond that he was much more than that as we made our way down the hall, but Sonic stole my attention as he studied his bloody angel wing sketch. His expression was set in deep pondering, mouth pressed into a tight line with his eyes traveling across the page in concern. "Hmm..."

"What does it mean?" I asked again, poking my head next to his and examining it with him.

Sonic shook his own head. "That's the thing, Shadow. I have no idea!"

"But you drew it," Nicole pointed out.

I grabbed Sonic's wrist and waved his charcoaled fingers in front of her nose. "We've already established that, thanks."

_"Real_ mature, Shads..." he mumbled, taking his hand back. I shot him a sneer.

Nicole huffed and strode alongside us silently, my impolite behavior finally getting her to shut up. I breathed a sigh of relief. Peace and quiet... from her voice.

_Crap. Now I'm starting to sound like H... That's not me, that's not me..._

...

I waited.

No cruel answer to my internal encouragement came. I fell confused for a second, but was reminded again of how empty my thoughts were with him mysteriously gone. I gritted my teeth; I wasn't used to being so alone. Come to think of it, I hadn't been alone in years...

It seemed like he had always been there, patiently biding his time for me to slip up; listening to the beats of my heart, the things that I considered, and the notions that could put me off. I consistently felt his presence on the border of my mind, weighting down my emotions colorless some days, intensifying them vividly others. He knew everything about me since day one, but I only knew fractions - no, hints - about him.

Of the scarce amount things I _did_ understand about H were that he was ruthless and demented. Never sympathetic, kind, or helpful. A malicious being whose only goal in life, was to ruin mine. His attributes had corrupted my own: cunning, smart, and cool... twisted into hate, revenge, and spite.

I shuddered uncomfortably. Why did I torture myself?

Why did _he _torture me?

An abrupt growl from Sonic distracted me. "I can't figure this out! It's so bizarre!" He grunted and pounded his fist lightly into his forehead. "Man, I feel like Silver!"

I barked out a laugh. "Stupid, you mean?"

He nodded. "Exactly!"

It was a pretty easy explanation for our dislike of the guy, seeing as he was tricked by Mephiles into attempting to have Sonic killed (and eventually succeeding). He _never _got over that.

In addition to our ill feelings towards Silver, we had often labeled him as, "the cocka-lion-hog," due to his ridiculous, bird-like spines and mane of fluffy white fur that wrapped around his neck and chest. We also scoffed that he had mental issues from being hit upside the head too many times, which had resulted in permanent brain damage and lead to his absurd psychokinetic powers. I sniggered, remembering his obsession for, "Protecting the future!" and dramatic way of speaking and acting.

But at least we had some fun throwing him in a dumpster, sabotaging his date with Blaze, and TP'ing his apartment, afterward turning on the sprinklers. Oh, what jerks Sonic and I can be...

Snapping out of my reverie, I looked to Sonic. "So what now?"

He sighed. "Well, I really want to decode this thing, or it'll drive me crazy. I need to concentrate. Where could we go?"

I shrugged. "Your dorm I gu-"

"No. Shadow, you're not allowed in any faculty dorms. That's strictly prohibited," Nicole interrupted, crossing her arms and staring me down with blazing sapphire eyes. "I thought I made that clear already?"

I snorted. "Clear as mud, Nicole. Clear as mud."

She ignored. "If you want someplace quiet we can look at it in the library, or the staff lounge," she quickly told Sonic. "The library is always silent-"

"Is the librarian a monster?" I intervened. "I've dealt with too many evil librarians who got on my case and nearly bit my head off."

She looked appalled. "No! Ella is a nice, gentle woman."

I scowled. "Even if she is, I'm not taking any chances. I hate libraries. Let's go to the lounge." I turned, though I had no idea where I was going.

"Why do you hate libraries so much?" Nicole blurted.

I stopped and faced her. "Because!"

"If you tell me, we won't go in!"

"Why should I? You've already butted into my problems, now you gotta know my tastes too?"

"Well I'm your counselor, so yes!"

"I don't need any counselor! I'm fine on my own!"

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, really!" By this time we were in each other's faces, yelling and glaring knives. I suddenly had the urge to grab her by the ears and scream at her...

_"Ugh, will you two stop fighting?"_ Sonic shouted, grinding his teeth. We froze and shifted our heads in his direction. "You fought in the lunchroom, the studio, and now in the halls! Gosh... You're _so_ annoying, Nicole! If he doesn't want to talk about it, don't force him!" She recoiled. "And Shadow, you need to chill, dude. It's not the end of the world if she wants to know why you don't like libraries!" he snapped. I went rigid.

Nobody spoke for a moment, each of us drinking in the thick anger in the air. My heart was racing, pulse thudding loudly in my ears. My neck twitched.

"Are _guests_ allowed in the lounge?" my brother stated to break the silence, his tone of voice mono. "Because if _Shadow_ isn't able to go in, I'm just going to the library to check this thing out." He flashed the crimson-tainted feathers enveloped in black smoke to Nicole, who ogled at it uneasily.

I cringed at the word 'library'. _Please, no..._

Nicole sighed in aggravation. "Yes. Guests can come into the lounge, as long as they are accompanied by an employee or counselor."

Sonic brightened considerably, gesturing from himself to her. "Well, we've got more than enough people to keep him under surveillance, don't we?" She stiffly nodded and he smiled widely. "Then what are we standing around for? Where's this lounge?"

Nicole forced a grin and started walking again, though a little reluctantly I could sense. "Follow me. I know where it is."

"Lead the way," Sonic said, grabbing my wrist and harshly yanking me behind him as we went after her. I exhaled miserably, my rage dissipating. Due to my actions and words, I was starting to consider I _was_ becoming like him... Sadistic and heartless...

_That's not me, that's not me... _Even my own thoughts shook with nervousness. I used to be courageous and daring. But now... How afraid of him had I become?

"What are you thinking about, Shadow?" Sonic whispered, troubled. He appeared to gaze into my soul.

I paused, about to respond, but shook my head instead. "Nothing..."

He was unconvinced, but didn't pester. I was grateful, knowing that if I told him, he would be seriously fearful. And I detested doing that to him. He already had enough to worry about as it was.

We made our way out of G hall and back into the plaza. It was near deserted, besides Torran, the grey-skinned lizard guard.

He was wearing a coal colored, loose shirt, with black and white striped sleeves and a peculiar symbol printed on the chest. Torran had in his clawed hand a large black club, which was studded with rounded barbs coated in something dark.

I shuddered. Was that... _blood? _He thumped it against the calf of his baggy black sweats, glancing around the plaza in boredom and sticking out his bottom lip slightly. The long, pale tail he had flicked around his ankles in sync with the stained weapon softly whacking his leg.

"Eep!" Sonic squeaked faintly, shooting to my side and hiding himself. "Oh no! Don't let him spot me!" He mimicked my footsteps, swings of my arms, and walked on his tiptoes so my upward-pointing spines would disguise his hanging ones. "He'll wring my neck!"

I glanced to the guy. "Was he really that mad?"

My brother bit his lip. "Heck yeah! He was insane! All because of that stupid basketball hoop!"

"Must have a bad temper..." I mumbled.

"Super bad," he breathed, shivering. "He scares me."

I chuckled. "The great Sonic Diago is afraid of a measly salamander. How heroic."

Sonic glared. "Hey, you'd been afraid of him too if he'd made you midway deaf."

I simply smiled and made sure to keep him out of Torran's gaze as Nicole swerved into A hall. I was pretty sure he hadn't seen Sonic, but just to make sure I looked back at him.

He was staring directly at me, yellow eyes burning with hostility. His lip curled back into a snarl, long, jagged-edged teeth glistening in the sunlight that came down from the overhead windows in the commons area. He lifted the club and cracked it onto the wood floor, a reverberating _boom_ sounding and shaking me off balance a bit. I thought I glimpsed the whites of Torran's eyes flare deep black, and another pair of eyes open below them.

_"Leave this place, Shadow Robotnik..." _His whisper carried across the corridor as if he were standing next to me.

I whipped my head back around, a lump in my throat, and dizzy for some reason. I swayed on my feet as I walked, straying into Sonic and almost knocking him over. "Whoa, you alright?" he worried, reaching up and holding my head steady as my eyes rolled in their sockets.

I blinked to find some sense of direction. "Did you see that?" I murmured, both terrified _and_ amazed.

Nicole and Sonic looked at me expectantly. "See what?" my brother wondered.

I pointed back to the plaza. "That was freaky! Torran's eyes, they turned black and he suddenly had more of them... I- he-" I noticed that the lizard had disappeared... and how much of an idiot I sounded like. "Wh-what?" I squinted at the empty spot in the room, thoughts scrambled up in shambles.

Nicole made a face. "I think you're hallucinating, Shadow. Torran doesn't have four eyes." I gazed at her dully, a frown on my face. "What?" I didn't answer.

Wasn't my counselor supposed to be helping me? Believe everything I claimed? Aid me in healing from my trauma? Well, she was doing a lousy job.

My flabbergasted statement had roused Sonic's curiosity, however. "Really?" He looked where Torran once stood with me. "I always figured he was a creep, but that's crazy!"

"Yeah..." I trailed off, realization hitting me like a freight train. Torran's eyes flashing black were equivalent to what Blitz's eyes had done the night before... A chill ran through my spine, with my fur standing up on end and my teeth chattering.

Nicole rolled her eyes and moaned. "You guys are so weird. Come on, the lounge isn't far." Swiveling around, she continued down A hall, not bothering to wait for us. We obeyed, I prying my thoughts off of Torran's strange eyeballs while Sonic muttered how messed up this place was.

Turning a corner, the three of us arrived at a plain white door. _Lounge _was written across the wood in capital letters, its shiny, brass doorknob glistening invitingly. A laminated slip of stark pink paper was displaying what Nicole had said about the rules of the lounge. A small window on the top of the door vaguely revealed the inside: made of birch, which was also loosely decorated.

Nicole smiled blandly, twisting the knob and swinging open the door. The minute inside, I felt an odd aura. It was almost familiar, but at the same time very foreign. I didn't know what name to place on it as I gazed around.

The walls of course, were wood, but extremely shiny and posh. There was a lush, brown shag carpet beneath my feet, which looked comfortable enough to sleep on. Two leather couches that were parallel to each other sat in one corner, with a long, glass table between them covered in books and old magazines. Above the pair of sofas was a beautiful painting of a twilit castle. The lights in the windows were warm, which blended nicely with the muted, darker colors of the surrounding moat, fields, and sky. That scene tweaked my memories of something... but I couldn't recall exactly what it was.

On the other side of the lounge was a line of squishy armchairs, the kind that once you sat yourself in, you sunk two feet into. They also made those funny sounds as I watched some counselor collapse into one, immediately asleep and snoring softly. He began to drool.

The seats on the ends of the strip were recliners, with side tables also stocked with reading pamphlets. At the far end of the room were two vending machines, which looked brand new and rarely used at all. Their humming was like background music in the still lounge, setting a calming mood. Fake, potted trees and cactus were at random places, shelves and on the tops of tables. The curious, enjoyable aroma filled the lounge as well.

The first thing we headed for were the couches. Sonic and I crashed onto one, while Nicole seated herself, lady-like, on the other and picked up a magazine. She flipped it open but seemed uninterested after a moment's study, and set it back down, scavenging the pile for something that caught her eye whilst paying no attention to us. I could tell she was still mad at me.

While Sonic leaned forward and scanned his drawing, I glanced around at the people occupying the lounge. There were several counselors, all hanging out with their friends or taking naps on the mushy chairs. A few of them were with their assigned guests, of which looked miserable and misunderstood. I felt kind of bad. Was that how I seemed to others? I wasn't sure.

My stomach churned when my gaze caught Paimen muttering to Armaros in the furthest corner of the place. They were deep in a conversation, talking quickly with troubled expressions.

I tried to listen in on their discussion, but couldn't understand a single word they were saying. Disgruntled, I continued my viewing, though finding nobody else that I recognized. The one guy that did walk in though, was wearing _way _too much cologne.

I coughed at the strong scent as he passed and approached Cassiopeia, who I hadn't seen hiding behind a large, plastic flower, trying to stay out of sight. Unsuccessful though, she was discovered by the man who smiled at her and began to strike up a conversation. Cassiopeia did not look happy at all, but was nice and talked back to him, her turquoise eyes glittering with apathy. I smiled.

Nicole snarled suddenly, rolling her eyes again and dropping the magazine she had been reading. The article it was open to was about easing one's problems by talking about them to others. I snickered as she looked from me, to the text on the page, then back to me. She slapped the thing shut with disgust.

"You brought it on yourself, you know," I said soothingly, yet mockingly. "You never had to ask." Her glare in response made me cringe. "Sorry, sorry..."

I wasn't sorry. Why would I be guilty when she was the one nagging me to death? I was the real victim, here, and in more ways than one. I couldn't give a care about her employment in the slightest.

"Yeah, you should be," she continued grumpily. "I'm _so_ gonna get fired..."

My eyes wandered to Sonic, still engrossed in his picture. "Splendid. One less thing for me to worry about, then."

Nicole was outraged. "You're unbelievable, Shadow!"

I spun the Ring on my wrist leisurely. "I know." The golden shine winked playfully at me. "I've had years worth of practice on girls."

"Being absolutely wretched to them? How many girls have you offended?"

I sat forward, resting my elbows on the knees of my jeans. "Tons." I smirked.

My manners had irritated her, so she got up from the couch and stormed away. Feeling like I had accomplished something, I cuddled into the leather cushions and clasped my hands behind my head, smiling and tapping my foot to a song that popped into my mind.

'I've been wrong, I've been down into the bottom of every bottle... These five words in my head, scream: are we having fun yet?'

I chuckled. _Oh yes._

I watched my counselor walk towards the dragon and cat standing concealed in shadows in the corner, her own tail darting around unhappily. Paimen's emerald eyes shifted to her as she drew near, his face hardening even more, while Armaros went stiff and didn't turn to acknowledge her. The sports director crossed his arms and frowned as she stopped.

_Now _I could make sense of what they were saying, since the three of them weren't speaking in that weird language. I listened while blindly grabbing the book _Romeo & Juliet, _turning to the first page and setting my gaze on it, though not paying heed to the words Shakespeare had written. My ears turned in the trio's direction.

"Hey," Nicole greeted.

Paimen was silent, but Armaros replied. "Hello." His voice sounded gravelly and fatigued.

"How are you?"

He sighed. "Fine." The dragon still didn't say anything.

"Are you sure? You looked pretty bad this morning." She paused. "...And still kind of do."

"Mm... I wasn't feeling my best when I awoke. A tad ill."

"I'm sorry. That's never fun. Are you okay now?" Nicole had a crush on Armaros, I could tell just by the way she talked. The fact she was in love with him noticeably showed through every syllable she spoke, and through the uncertainty of her word choice.

"Um... More or less." He was clearly feeling awkward, now.

A heavy sigh came after Armaros' response. "I'm outta here. See ya later," Paimen grunted. I quickly glanced up at him over the aged, yellow pages of the book.

The white dragon trudged away from Armaros and Nicole with morose, thrusting his hands in his pockets and puffing out an exasperated breath. His tail dragged behind his bare feet, twitching agitatedly. He slowly walked closer to Sonic and I, dog tags at his neck jingling with each step he took.

I returned to eavesdropping on my counselor, holding _Romeo & Juliet _higher to block my eyes from their view. Hopefully something meaningful would be said. I didn't want to waste my time on a nervous chat about Armaros' health.

"So, do you know why Arcon is mad at Blitz?" Nicole wondered. I lowered the book again, curious at the change of subject. She was leaning against the wall and twirling the end tuft of her braid around on a finger, while Armaros relaxed his taut position and casually gazed at her.

He cocked his head to the side. "No. I was unaware that Blitz had done anything wrong."

Just then his left eye flickered to me, a look of stark awareness over the shocking blue. His ears twitched, the small, square earrings in them swinging. I felt that disturbingly memorable aura again with his stare, quickly glancing away as my neck throbbed sharply.

"Ack!" I hissed, almost flinging the book onto the table and clapping my hand over the lump. "What the...?" That hurt... Little shoots of stinging darted through my muscles, causing me to wince. The pain was brief, but severe as I squeezed harder. I gritted my teeth once more.

_What was that?_

"You alright?" someone asked.

Sonic had noticed my outbreak of pain, his eyes concerned and a brow raised. "Is your neck bothering you?"

I was about to explain to him, but became distracted. "Whoa. Shadow, I never pictured you holding Romeo and Juliet." Paimen's snide voice came from above, a smile behind the words. I looked to him standing with folded arms and his wings half unfurled. "Had the dire need to read some tear-jerker chick novel? Y'know I always thought you were more into action packed, gory books for emos."

"I can assure you, I'm not emo, Paimen," I said, a little bugged. Just because my fur was black, I had red streaks and crimson eyes, with a tragic past did that mean I was emo? Everyone I came in contact with thought that. Even Amy had suggested I get a makeover, dyeing my stripes green and getting contact lenses. I wasn't in a good mood that day, and shoved her face into a heap of mud. Man, the nerve... "I haven't read it."

He chuckled. "Sure you haven't. You just kept it in front of your nose and pretended you were reading it while you were actually snooping on other people's conversations."

I stared at him blankly, imagining the chirps of crickets. "Uh..."

A grin cracked across his face. "Eh, I'm kidding. I know you'd never do that." He heartily laughed, hands on his hips. "You're a reasonable guy."

"Ha ha ha! Yeah..." I nodded and left _Romeo & Juliet _on top of the glass coffee table, finding it upsetting that Paimen had known exactly what I was doing. Lucky guess, I suppose...

Or was it?

Paimen abruptly ceased laughing and looked to Sonic. "What's this?" He sat across on the opposing couch from the blue hedgehog, focused on the picture intently. "Did you draw that?"

Sonic watched him sheepishly. "Yeah, why?"

The dragon slid his claws beneath the paper, lifting it to the edge of his snowy muzzle and observing the charcoal drawing. "It's remarkable..."

Sonic smiled unsurely. "You're too kind."

"No really, this is amazing."

"Oh? Well, thanks, I guess. I didn't try too hard, the idea just came into my head randomly."

"Is that so?" His tone signified that he didn't want to say anything more, so we left him to inspect the sketch. Minutes passed.

Without warning, Paimen froze, his eyes wide. Jaw dropping, a stunned choking escaped his mouth as he goggled and became more and more milkily toned. "This is...!" He wheezed, gaze glossing over. Something had clicked in his mind.

Sonic and I both stared at him, the strange reaction having us both uneasy. The plating beneath the dragon's eyes darkened to a midnight purple, making his unlit, green irises seem black. Inky veins sprouted within the rich violet, twisting around his scales.

My brother spoke up first. "Paimen?"

The sports director looked at us and hollowly smiled, beginning to break out in a sweat. He flew to his feet and abandoned the drawing onto the clutter of books. "I-I gotta go. Need to... talk with... err... Bye." In a few seconds flat, Paimen had exited the lounge, and was sprinting down the hall in a psychotic manner. His wings fluttered behind him as I watched him disappear around the bend.

Sonic and I exchanged glances. "What was that all about?" He shrugged.

A moment of silence went by, then I switched the topic. "So, have you figured it out yet?"

Pointing to the picture that lay (almost) innocently on the paperbacks, Sonic studied it with me. "Well I've got a hunch of what the blood is for, and maybe the wings and smog," he replied, relieved that he wasn't decoding it any longer. "The faces I'm still unsure about, though."

"Fill me in."

He sighed. "I think the blood symbolizes something that could fly got seriously injured, and hasn't healed. Hence the pool beneath it." He paused. "But what they're attached to has thrown me for a loop."

"Smoky wings?" I said incredulously.

He chuckled. "I don't think that's it, Shadow. Hmm... It's very enigmatic though, wouldn't you say?" Sonic traced one of the yawning mouths on the page blithely.

I nodded, pursing my lips. "Mysterious."

He was focused on the drawing, hand over his upper lip in a thinking pose. "Mm-hmm."

"And creepy," I added.

"Oh, yeah."

Sonic blinked and stood up, stretching widely. "Well I'm getting tired of staring at this thing. I'm done." He looked at me. "Wanna come with me to my dorm?"

I hesitated. "Aren't guests '_not allowed'?"_

He waved his hand and rolled his eyes. "Relax. I'm just gonna drop it off so Nicole doesn't go postal."

I agreed with a chortle. "Sounds good."

Getting to my feet as well, I followed Sonic as he snatched his picture and approached Nicole and Armaros. "We're ready to go," he said to catch their attentions once we joined them in their corner.

Both feline heads turned, with Nicole smiling sweetly. "Already?" she sighed, clearly not wanting to bid her 'boyfriend' goodbye. Why was she interested in all the freaks? Well she did work at a camp for kids with problems... Maybe it was unavoidable? I dismissed the thought.

"All right, then. I'll see you," she sadly stated, swiveling away from the black-haired cat to between Sonic and I.

As we were about to leave, Armaros looked my brother up and down scrutinizingly, his hands in the pockets of his blanched denims. His grey tail twisted at his booted feet, with the protruding spikes on the end of it combing through the carpet threads. He scowled and shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "I do believe that you were specifically commanded by principal Dekker to stay away from Shadow?"

I almost yelped. Sonic had been restricted from me? Why would he- _did Arcon know?_

The blue hedgehog nodded. "I was." Sonic's voice was tense, with a flippant touch. "But that rule doesn't apply right now." His eyes became slightly lighter green, a shimmer of white heightening them.

"And why is that?" Armaros raised a brow, though looking rather excited.

"Because I'm the only one who can stop what could potentially happen."

For a moment they stared at each other, only the vending machines' purring backing up their silent showdown. I waited for either of them to move, but they were both perfectly still. In the meantime, the air conditioning turned on noisily, a far off door opened with a creak, and somebody sneezed.

Armaros spoke up, catching everyone off guard. "Indeed. Well." He looked at each of us. "I hope you all have a wondrous afternoon." Sneaking a final glance to Sonic, he pushed his way past us.

I blinked after my eyesight fuzzed out, swaying on my feet. A whooshing feeling soon arose all through my body, making my head swim a tad. I shook my head to clear my vision.

I found Nicole watching me, her eyes suspicious. "You dizzy, or something?" she pestered.

"Not at all," I grunted back, looking to my brother as an alternative to conversing about my shrouded troubles. He was right. She _was _annoying.

Sonic was glaring after Armaros when the lounge door swung shut. "C'mon guys. Let's go." He gripped his drawing tighter, striding away sullenly.

Nicole and I followed closely behind as we reentered A hall. Something didn't seem right, which made my stomach turn sickeningly. Paimen's behavior was questionable, as was Armaros' smugness. The odd thumping of my neck was erratic, which worried me terribly. I groaned to myself, loathing what could possibly be awaiting me later. That unrelenting feeling continued nagging as we rounded a corner and passed through the corridor Sonic and I recently ruined.

To my surprise, the walls were almost entirely covered with fliers, which were cleanly glued onto the wood in neat rows. Glancing around, I recalled a few of the pictures I had gathered from before, chuckling at the cheesy punch lines. My gaze traveled down the hall to the front desk secretary, Fiѐt, standing on her toes and sticking a hot pink poster onto the paneling. Her fingertips were coated with a thick, tan glue, a bucket of it sitting near her high-heeled feet, and a stack of notices next to that. Her hair was sticky with adhesive, as were spots on her face and the cuffs of the black sleeves of her shirt.

We approached, Fiѐt's purple ear flicking backward. Her numerous earrings tinkled with the movement, and she turned her head to the side to look at us. The passing gust of AC wind blew her ivory locks into the adhesive stuck on her cheeks, her stunning copper eyes suddenly glinting.

A filthy scowl bore into Sonic as he passed by the girl, though he took no notice whatsoever. Fiѐt gave Nicole no reaction, but I received another glower that sent me spiraling into a serious guilt-trip. After staring me down, Fiѐt continued on with her redecorating job, muttering under her breath, "This jisting glue is going to take eternity to wash out!"

I didn't care much about laundry, so I followed after Sonic and Nicole, not wanting to be left behind. Even though she was drop-dead gorgeous, Fiѐt wasn't someone you messed with. I could also say that about Blitz, Armaros, Arcon, and Torran. I shuddered and hunched my shoulders closer to myself, the extremely frigid breeze from the vents causing goosebumps to erupt from my skin.

"Why is it so cold in here?" I asked around chattering teeth.

Sonic smiled and met my eyes. "You really think it's cold? I think it feels great!"

I sneered. "But you're never cold, dude. You could go outside in the middle of the winter with nothing on, roll around in the snow, _eat_ the snow, then buy a _snow cone_ and _still_ feel warm," I grumbled, remembering the time we built an igloo together on Christmas Island.

The thing was enormous. About ten feet tall and eight feet wide, we were able to fit sleeping bags, our old XBOX, and then Uncle Chuck's mattress inside it. When Sonic was packing the outside to keep it firm, I was inside of it, arranging the interior of our new hideout till spring came along... but along the way he had accidentally packed too vigorously.

And thus I was buried beneath the heaps of ice and snow, stuck for hours. He had ran - as quick as possible in heavy boots and three foot snow banks - to go get a shovel and some pickaxes, and in the meantime it lightly rained, snowed, and hailed. I was frozen stiff when he and his adoptive siblings (his parents were killed by Dr. Robotnik) finally dug me out.

Sonic's foster mom had felt pity for me, and forced me to sit in a scalding bathtub. I defrosted for the next several hours and afterward threw Sonic face first into a snowdrift. I was fuming.

It was a shame he had (and still has) great body temperature, so he didn't become a hedgehogsicle. I then proceeded to chase him around the island with a sled in my hands, vowing to smack him upside the head with it.

That was a freezing holiday season.

Anyway, Sonic laughed, slowing down and swiftly rubbing my arm with his empty hand. "I don't get it. You have more fur than I do, but you freeze like nobody's business."

I stared forward. "Yeah, but I grew up in outer space, you were raised on a sunny island."

He made a face. "Shouldn't we be opposite, then?"

"Now that you mention it... Yeah!"

Nicole was giving us funny looks. "Right..." She composed herself to speak, her next words confident and explanatory. "Well, to answer your question, Shadow, no one really knows the exact reason why."

I raised a brow. "Nobody?"

"At all?" Sonic added.

She pointed to an overhead vent, which was rattling. "Rumor has it that the air conditioner is permanently broken, so it will always blow cold air," Nicole stated. "Mr. Dekker hired Cecil, the janitor, but he was too inexperienced to know how to fix it, so it's been keeping Artemis chilled for years." After a nearly invisible sneer, Nicole paused. "...personally I don't believe it. They're just too lazy to keep the darn thing under maintenance."

"Couldn't they just call a repairman?" my brother asked.

I leaned towards him as Nicole opened her mouth. "No, he doesn't want the bodies to spoil," I muttered into his ear. He broke out in fits of snickering.

"What'd you say?" Nicole wondered after observing us giggling uncontrollably.

Sonic watched her closely. "What? No, weird," he blatantly said, still smiling widely. He elbowed me in the ribs sharply.

"Ow!"

My counselor rolled her eyes and swiftly strode onward. "Men..."

Still giggling like schoolgirls, Sonic and I followed.

Eventually we arrived at my brother's dorm room eleven. Nicole seemed skeptic as we stopped and waited for him to dig his key out from his pocket. "And what are we doing at your room?" she questioned, eyes slitted. "We better not be-"

"Simmer down. I'm just going to leave this here," Sonic interrupted, finding the key and unlocking the door. He swung it open and stepped halfway inside, looking back at us. "I'll be right back," he said in a parental manner, then closed the door and disappeared.

Once alone, Nicole immediately glanced to me. I dully scowled at her, a blank frown on my face as I leaned against the wall. I knew what she was doing. Crossing my arms, I prepared myself for a verbal battle.

"Wh-" she began.

"Don't," I cut off.

"Wha-"

"Ehp!" I grunted, raising a hand to silence her.

"But-"

"No! I'm not going to tell you what I'm hiding, so stop pestering me about it!" I nearly shouted. _What more did I have to do to get her to quit? _

She raised a brow. "I... wasn't going to ask you about that."

I loosened up. "You weren't?" Nicole shook her head. "Oh."

There was an awkward silence.

"Then what _were_ you going to ask me about?" I said, tilting my head to the side.

Nicole lowered her head, shifting her weight uncomfortably from one foot to the other. "Well, I was curious..." She paused, gathering her words. "That girl you were drawing in the studio... was that... Maria?" Slowly her eyes found mine.

That came by surprise.

I gradually got myself to nod, a bit startled that she had noticed my simple sketch. "Yes. Why?"

A faint smile appeared on her lips. "She's really pretty."

I saddened, ears drooping. "She was. The prettiest Robotnik of them all." A vision of Maria laughing materialized into my mind, her voice pleasantly ringing throughout my thoughts. Warmth soon overcame me, and I found myself feeling like I had just been collected into a tender hug. I sighed, my fur standing on end once more as the icy gales brushed through my thin shirt.

"What do you mean, _'she was'?"_ Nicole questioned, rousing me, her tone curious.

I gave her a hard stare. "Maria's dead," I said flatly. Did she have to ask me about this now?

Nicole gave a small gasp. "She is?" I watched her own ears sag. "I'm sorry... I-I didn't know... Hopefully I didn't pry..."

I looked at my feet. "Maria Robotnik has been dead for... for..." I suddenly couldn't remember anything. "How long...?" I ran through my memories, but all that came up the furthest I got back was waking up in the ARK's hospital wing, surrounded by the gazes of tormented scientists, feeling dry-throated and drained. I also remembered a distinct smell. The heavy scent of metal.

My mind was racing. I couldn't even recall _how_ she had died. Not even a blur of what demon had snatched her life. Was it her NIDS disease that had killed her? A problem with the ARK? Had my programming gone awry and _I, _Shadow Robotnik, her only friend in the universe, killed my beloved friend? With my head beginning to pound, I stared blankly through the wall, going stiff and growing colder.

_You're a soulless murderer!_

The voice that had sounded tore through my thoughts like a white-hot blade. Everything I had been thinking about shredded to ribbons.

Was it him? I went even more stiff. _No, NO, NOO-! _

So great was my trance that I barely heard Nicole speak.

"Shadow?"

Jerking as if from a dream, I faced her. I had forgotten she was there. I noticed instantly that the girl seemed frightened as she peered at me. "Sh-Shadow, are you all right?" Nicole brushed some stray locks of her butter-blonde hair behind her cheek and tensed in such a way that it seemed she wanted to bolt.

Without even seeing myself, I knew I was sweating and struggling to breathe. I knew that color had drained from my face, with my limbs shaking even when standing sculpture still. I muttered one word after practically breaking the handle off of the door behind me, "Sonic-"

Throwing it open, I retreated from the hallway and Nicole's terrified watch into the blue hedgehog's dimmed room. Almost tripping because of the bed, I staggered over to him, waiting at the window with the curtains drawn a thread. A small beam of light sliced through the faintness, Sonic looking intently through the split at whatever lay beyond the wall.

I stopped about a foot from him. "What are you doing?" My voice shook in panic.

He didn't respond, but silently gestured me closer with a flick of his head. Doing so, Sonic pulled me next to him and parted the curtains further, widening the gap between them. I blinked against the harsh sunlight, but quickly adjusted to the sight outside.

There was a large, concrete-paved, open area enclosed by the outer walls of Artemis on three sides. The remaining side's asphalt was cutoff by untamed grass, and a few feet further stood a barrier of tall, thick tree trunks. I couldn't see through the heavy branches overloaded with already-reddening leaves, but didn't desire a peek into the eerie-looking forest at all.

I reverted my attention backwards. Inside the vast blacktop field were several climbing walls. Busy with guests fitted in climbing gear, the place bustled. Everywhere climbers struggled to reach the top of the high walls, competing against each other in scrambling races. Sonic wasn't interested in the majority of the people there, however, he was zeroed in on one particular person, who was standing amongst a group of Artemis inmates.

Armaros seemed to be the subject of the playful argument that was ensuing at the foot of a climbing wall. He waved his hands and shook his head several times, but the repeated encouraging smiles and jabs on the shoulder finally got him to do whatever they were discussing. I watched Armaros approach the wall and begin to unzip his jacket. Hushed cheers erupted from the crowd (mostly from females) as he tossed aside his windbreaker and removed his shirt.

Sonic seized my quivering arm and pointed at the cat outside mutely, eyes burning with intensity. I froze when the sun shined upon Armaros' bare back, reflecting dozens of clearly visible, black, curling symbols that were printed across his fur.

Sorts of spiked, unintelligible words surrounded his muscular arms, with dots trailing his lower back and sides. Twisting patterns lined the nape of his neck and sank down his spine. The most profound tattoo that I saw on Armaros was the elegant pair of wings that were etched into his grey coat. I heard Sonic lightly gasp at the dull, sluggish borders that covered the tips of the wings, dripping like rain into a small, painted in puddle on his body. A slight reddish tint highlighted them from the rest of the markings, making them stick out marvelously.

"I'd know those tattoos anywhere," Sonic murmured darkly. "He's an Orionne."

"But they shouldn't exist anymore!" I whispered frantically, completely dismissing the feelings I had had previously of fear within my own self. Now I was horrified for Sonic's safety. If an Orionne was here... "They were supposed to have been wiped out!"

A heavy breath came from Sonic. "Supposedly. Crap."

"What now?" I asked.

Sonic didn't move. Nor did he say anything. He simply watched as Armaros had successfully ascended the climbing wall without harnesses. Standing triumphantly upon the top, roaring applause rang for him. His smile was tiny, but still flashed his joy at the amount of praise. A dead weight dropped in my chest and my stomach churned.

Abruptly, the stomping of feet greeted our stupefaction. Whirling around from the window, Sonic drew the curtains and regained his suave composure. I slowed my heart and tried to breathe evenly, waiting for Nicole to stride across the room to us with outstretched arms and a disgusted expression upon her face. "May I ask what are you two doing?"

"Looking out a window," I said.

My counselor babbled senselessly with her jaw dropped. "What are you, Peeping Toms?"

Sonic shrugged. "In a sense, you could say."

_"Huh?"_

"Wanna see?" I stepped aside and drew the curtain a touch, goading Nicole's interest with a sly smile.

Huffing, I watched her hands ball into fists. Despite her next words, Nicole marched towards the window, a glimmer of intrigue shining in her eye. "I most certainly do not want to see whatever- aahhh..." The grumbling had stopped once her infatuated gaze found Armaros, who had leapt down from his perch upon the rock and was hurriedly putting his clothes back on. Sighing, barely noticing Sonic and my sniggering, Nicole admiringly clasped her fingers on the windowsill. "He's so awesome... Look at how his hair just flows in the wind-"

Sonic had grabbed her by the shoulders to steer her out of his room, pleasantly smirking. "All right Miss Lovesick, c'mon."

"But-!" Nicole protested indistinctly, trying to drag her feet against Sonic's thrust.

"Ah, ah, ah! No buts! Love is a _distraction_. You're at work! You can't go ogling people through windows, that's a little unnerving."

"Huh... Guess you're right..." Nicole breezily mumbled, letting him push her through the door and into the hall. I followed a little hesitantly, my thoughts still heavy.

What was wrong with me?

Was I truly forgetting?

Had H returned?

* * *

About nine hours later, the three of us were wandering the halls in starvation. Our nerves had settled overtime, either due to boredom or hunger. It was mostly hunger, because the dinner schedule had been prolonged. Typically it begins at six o' clock, but for some reason, tonight's meal was late two hours.

I was suffering.

"Food... Must... have... food..." Sonic groaned, holding his hysterically growling stomach as he shuffled along the floor. "Slowly... losing... consciousness..."

Nicole sighed as we insensibly left the corridor we had been dawdling through. "Quit being such a drama-hog, Sonic. We'll have dinner soon." A loud rumble from her abdomen caused her cheeks to flush red. "I hope so..." she whispered under her breath.

"How soon?" I croaked, jotting down the number of times we had circled Artemis' passages: fifteen.

She was about to shrug when a high-pitched shriek blasted from behind her. Nicole jumped and squealed, flinging herself onto me in shock. I staggered beneath her force and collapsed to the ground, her on top of me and hugging my neck in a death-grip. "Nic-_cole! _What the heck are you doing?" I exclaimed. Sonic swung around with his arms up in a fighting stance.

After a moment, I watched him smile. He loosened his position and casually grinned at whoever he faced. Tossing Nicole's braid aside, I glimpsed Ellick, a thin hand over his cloaked head and boasting with laughter. In his free hand was clutched a large megaphone - the source of the shrieking. His illuminating green eyes were slitted as if he were closing them.

Heaving out an exasperated huff, I pushed Nicole off and onto the floor beside me. "Hey! Oof!" she cried. I ignored and stood, shooting Ellick a semi-dark look. .

He wiped his glowing eye with a blanched white finger, still chortling. "That was classic!" Witnessing the expression I was offering him, Ellick tilted his hooded head to the side and twitched his ears at me. "Don't give me that look. I was only having fun, Shadow."

I snorted. "Yeah right." Nicole's tail ferociously whipped the ankle of my jeans. "What was that for?"

"Hmph!" She got up and brushed her pants smooth, pursing her lips with irritation. "Some way to treat a lady!"

"At least I caught you!"

"Then you shoved me off!"

"What, did you _enjoy_ our little cuddle session?"

She was appalled. "You're such a jerk!" I received a rough slap across the arm. Biting my tongue from replying, I teasingly snarled at her. _Our fights are getting a little worse..._

Ellick rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Anyway, I came to find you guys. We got dinner started up and the rest of the Camp is waiting for you."

"Took 'em long enough!" Sonic hollered. "We can finally eat!"

Nicole stared into Ellick's dark, shrouded face. "What happened to make it be so late?"

He took in a breath, but thought better of telling us the reason. His round stare caught Sonic for a fleeting second. Then he looked away towards the dining hall. "You'll see." Ellick twisted around and bade us to follow him.

As we did, I noticed that only Nicole's and my footsteps were audible. Falling confused, I considered. I understood Sonic's quietness when walking, he just had light steps. The tall figure's cloak barely skimmed above the floor, giving off the impression he was floating. I tried to peek beneath the tattered fabric, but failed to visualize anything. Did Ellick even have feet?

Banishing my inquisitiveness (and impossibility), I quickened my pace as our escort did. He still made no sound at all. My ears strained to catch even the slightest sound, to the point that I found myself gazing baffled at the folds in his clothing, wondering what on Mobius this guy truly was. What was he hiding from the world?

Eventually, Ellick felt my scrutiny on him, and shifted from forward-walking to backward-walking in a single, fluid swivel. "Something wrong?" His voice was sonorously amiable. So much that it appeared otherworldly.

Quickly shaking my head, I said nothing.

At last we arrived at the cafeteria. Past the doors, the familiar boom of excited chatter awaited, along with a smell that radiated from the room and into the hall. I recognized it to be cheap beef and some sort of beans. I also recognized the sickly smell of barbecue and tomato sauce.

Sonic heave out a small, _"Urp..."_

Ellick guided us into the place, stopping only a foot from the doors we had just entered. I took in the sight of dozens of tables brimming with Artemis guests, all of their attentions focused on us. A circular clearing sat in the middle of the commotion, large enough to accommodate Arcon, Armaros, Torran, Cassiopeia, Fiѐt, and Blitz, who were gathered in a small bunch. I took note that Blitz's face was masked in shadow by a slate grey hood, and of Arcon patiently watching us from where he stood, a bleak smile on his tanned features.

The talking stopped immediately, and I felt suddenly exposed. Arcon lit up as he raised his arms in welcome. "And here he is! The star of tonight's dinner! I was beginning to think he wouldn't show..." His voice spread easily over the crowd. Reaching into his tuxedo jacket, the principal removed a stunning silver pocket watch on-chain, which he flipped open to glance a moment at the time. "Fashionably late however, Sonic Diago." Clapping the device shut, his golden irises gleamed with mischief. "Come, come! We mustn't be rude and ruin our own party now, should we sir? Take a seat!"

Ellick bent over and whispered swiftly, "I must go. Enjoy the meal!" Then he scurried off between overpopulated tables and joined the rest of the faculty in the heart of the cafeteria. Taking his place beside Blitz, he patted down some frayed feathers at his shoulders and straightened his posture. I could only see Blitz's burning red stare meet Ellick's charming green one, the both of them muttering something and then ending with a brisk nod.

Someone tugged on my elbow during my studying, pulling me over to three vacant chairs and sitting me down harshly. He lowered his hand into his lap and sat silently. I was next to Sonic, with Nicole on his other side. We waited for Arcon to acknowledge us again.

He began. "Aren't we lucky to have such a... celebrity join us this summer?" Mr. Dekker happily stated. "I think we can all agree that we are even more fortunate at receiving two infamous hedgehogs into our midst. After all, when does one ever get to witness an epic soccer match between heated teams? Or perhaps see Sonic's world class speed with their own eyes? Maybe observe Shadow's second to none power? Well..." He paused after a snicker. "I, Arcon Fallon Dekker, believe that these boys came to Artemis for a reason. A reason that shall unfold in due time...

"Now! It is my greatest pleasure to announce a limited offer, special dinner dedicated to everyone's favorite blue blur. As he will only be here once, we welcome him with his preferred dish... Chili dogs!"

With that introductory monologue, I watched as Sonic practically turned green. Mild clapping resonated from the surrounding guests, all of them excited about the announcement. My brother and I exchanged glances of repugnance. "Shadow..." he bubbled. "I'm scared..."

After a _clack_ of a tray being set down, I looked at the chili dog that lay before me on the table. Servers were passing them around the room, the ravenous guests eating them up like wild hounds. The lumpy beef frank enclosed in a stale bun and slopped with foul smelling sauce and beans goaded my gag reflex. I swallowed and tried to suppress retching, looking to poor Sonic as his face became pallid.

Nicole noticed our reactions to the food. "What's with you two? Not five minutes ago you were begging for something to eat!"

Sonic said nothing, but kept a glazed watch on his chili dog. "You'd be hesitating too if you've witness what these abominations can do to your body!" I hissed across the tabletop to her. She raised a brow, nonplussed. "Ugh."

"Do you have all your organs, Nicole?" Sonic weakly asked.

She made a confused face. "Yeah...? Why...?"

He shivered and hugged himself tightly around the torso with his arms. "I got appendicitis because of those darn things. _I could have died! All because of a stupid chili dog!"_ Sonic clenched his teeth and stared intently at the juices flowing from the long sausage. "That accursed chili dog... Urgh..."

Nicole was spooked. "Isn't appendicitis the condition where your appendix swells?"

"...and if you let it go untreated it will explode. Killing you," I finished, scooting my chair further from the chili dog that emanated evil. Sharing a phobia of chili dogs kind of screws you up. And Sonic was pretty screwed up because of that toxic stuff.

"Whoa," was the only word Nicole could utter. Sonic clutched himself and turned his head from the food on his plate, whimpering.

Three silhouettes approached out of my peripheral vision. Growing edgy, I stiffened in my seat. All of that talk of exploding appendixes and rancid chili dogs was making me nauseous. On top of that, I wanted to avoid those three figures at all costs, no matter who they were. I felt extreme paranoia. Springing to my feet, I headed for the door, hurriedly muttering to Sonic before I left, "I need some air."

He desperately watched me go. "But you just got here! Take me with you! PLEASE!"

About to respond, I was stopped in my tracks by a firm hand. "Where're you goin', Shads?" said a voice I knew to be Paimen's. "Don't like the publicity?" His emerald eyes glittered.

"No, I-"

"...or is it the food?" DJ piped up behind Paimen's wings pathetically. He looked rather bilious and ill. James, who was next to him bore a sinister smirk. He lifted his elbow menacingly towards DJ's stomach, daring to pound him. DJ quickly cringed away with an eyelid twitching. "Don't you risk it, man! I'll break you!" he hollered desperately.

The monochromatic hedgehog contemptuously folded his arms and surprisingly backed off, a twinge of fear hinting at his pale features. He stood stiffly and bit his lip, while chuckling to himself. _Strange... _I thought.

There was a pause as everyone's attention waned on the bipolar pair of hedgehogs. Looking from face to face, I eased Paimen's three-fingered hand off of my shoulder, slinking behind him and right by. The dragon paid no heed.

I crept out of the cafeteria unnoticed it seemed. Taking one last peek to ensure I wasn't missed, I caught the gaze of James. He was expressionless, besides squinting at me with a look of deep dislike. "What are you gawking at me for? Go on!" Shuddering, I darted out of his sight and out of the F hall, direly needing some time alone.

Without a second glance behind me, I sped through the plaza with moonlight basking my steps. My footfalls reverberated around the deserted walls, with my breath easy and relaxed even as I ran. I began to think while briskly traveling the corridors, allowing my thoughts to fan out towards the secluded spaces of my mind.

James' unforgiving look haunted me. Why had he spoken to me so harshly? I hadn't done anything to him at all. In fact, I had never even seen the guy before I came to this forsaken place. I only met him today. Did he just harbor a hatred for everyone he saw?

I shook my head and held back a chuckle. That couldn't be so. As I recalled the mere depth and raw emotion to his stare, I felt abruptly cold, like my insides had been frozen. There was something in those dull blue eyes... something that knew me.

My fur stood on end and another gale of the air conditioner's arctic wind chilled me to the bone. I skidded to a stop in front of my dorm room, laying one hand on the doorknob while rubbing my shoulder with the other. "It's freezing in here..." I said in an undertone. Did I just see a puff of my breath?

Pulling and twisting, I couldn't pry the door open. Embarrassed by my own stupidity, I reached into my pocket and fished around. It was empty. I dug around in the other three pockets of my jeans, coming up short in locating my key. _Where is that thing? _Then I remembered earlier today, when Sonic had shut the door behind us on our way to lunch, when I hadn't grabbed the key.

Slouching my shoulders, I groaned. "Great. Now I gotta go to the front desk and beg for a new one. Ugh..." Reluctantly turning around, I retraced my steps and walked through each dismally desolate passage till I reached the main office, the temperature decreasing with each foot I trekked.

When I arrived, I found the tiny room to be without Fiѐt sitting behind the desk, scowling at each attendant who entered. Stepping inside cautiously, I kept a lookout for any soul I could spot. "Hello? Uh... my dorm key is locked... in my... dorm..." I muttered aloud as I slowly tiptoed inside. "Could anyone help me?" My words had fallen on inanimate object ears.

Sighing, I leapt over the top of the front desk and pulled out the many drawers and filing cabinets that sat beyond it. Cluttering around with papers, files, CDs, photocopying instructions, and a whole stack of motivational fliers, I cleaned out almost everything in the vicinity. Carefully re-alphabetizing the things I had scattered, I continued scrounging around for keys.

Finally I found a rectangular box tucked between a filing cabinet and a wall. Blowing the dust off the case once I removed it, I plucked my spare labeled key from the silk interior and held it firmly. Completely forgetting the opened key container, I left it on the carpet and hurriedly exited the office before somebody saw me.

After nearly going supersonic down the halls, I ended up in a split-second before my locked dorm. Happily sliding the key into the lock, I opened the door triumphantly and collapsed upon my bed once within. I glared at my original key sitting innocently on my nightstand, throwing the other one next to it. _Stupid key..._

I grew suddenly exhausted, yawning widely and stretching. Deciding it was time for bed, I got up and roamed into the bathroom, needing to brush my teeth before I retired for the day. I also remembered with disdain that I had to take that Souffler once more.

"Don't worry, Shadow, this'll all be over soon..." I reminded myself, and held the sloshy bottle, uncapping it and lifting it to my lips. Before taking a mouthful, my gaze wandered into my reflection in the mirror.

Purple irises glowered back.

I dropped the Souffler.

Crying out in the ferocious pain that had erupted in my skull, I pinched my eyes shut and gripped my head tightly. The wave of vibrations began to flow into my jaw and fingers, spreading to the rest of my body and heightening acutely. I gritted my teeth and bit back yelping as fire pulsed through my veins.

_I'm baack... _

_N-no! It can't b-be! _

_Did you miss me, Shadow the Hedgehog? Ha ha ha ha!_

Another jolt of pain tore through me. I crumpled to the tile and struggled both internally and externally by the psychotic laughter that shook my whole being. Quivering and trying to repulse him, I dug my fingers into my fur, hoping that that would at least do something. Anything at all to overshadow this curse.

_Why? I had finally gotten rid of you!_

_You actually thought you had been freed? Foolish boy! I will forever be part of you, there is nothing in this world that can tear me from your body!_

H's voice was a fearsome growl, backed with starvation of pure bloodlust. He sounded extremely excited, but for dark purposes I sensed. I curled up into a ball and howled, terror rushing through me.

What if he gained control?

_No! No! No! I can't let you... I can't, I can't! _Even though I was fighting back as best I could, I knew I was losing the bodily battle. I could already feel myself going numb. H had become drastically powerful in his absence. _This can't be happening..._

_You seem anxious, Shadow... Do you want to go out for a stroll? We have not had a decent night out together for quite some time... I'm just itching to see that moon! _

"GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" I screamed out loud, arching my back and writhing on the floor.

H replied with a blood-curdling laugh, ignoring my shout. _No! I think that is a great idea! Why don't you take us beyond this place you so detest, back to the outside world and fresh air you crave? _

"I WILL NOT! YOU CANNOT MAKE ME!"

_Is that what you think? You have still failed to fully realize my powers..._

I went stiff, but the pain still wracked every inch of me. What was he doing?

_Get up._

My legs moved without my consent, pushing me off the ground and floppily upright. Grinding my teeth, I grasped the countertop and pulled closer to it, refusing to move. "I will not!"

_Obey me or face the consequences!_

Fists shaking, I hurled myself into the vacant shower stall, slamming the transparent door behind me. Crashing to the floor, I extended my limbs to press against each wall, locking my position. "NO!"

He growled, something snapping inside him. _DON'T YOU SPEAK THAT WORD TO ME, VESSEL!_

I lost momentary control of my body, H flinging us forward and through the glass door forcefully. Shards sliced everything around us, including my skin and clothes. Grimacing and blinking blood out of my eyes, I shoved him aside and reached up to the towel rack and held it firmly. "I'm not... moving!" I shrieked to him.

H's anger boiled, making me feel overheated and sick. I groaned as my left hand obtained a mind of its own, and slapped itself to the floor to drag me along the tiling towards the door. Seeing through my adversary's plan, I twisted around and kicked the door closed. I was now in an awkward situation, whilst sitting on glass fragments. My right arm high above my head, my left arm at my side and creeping across the tile, with my legs oddly laying in front of me.

_This is a battle between your will and mine, Shadow..._

_Do your worst!_

_Do I sense a challenge?_

The strength increased in my muscles, causing the towel rack to crash off its clamps and clatter to the floor. It barely nicked me in the ear as it fell. I gasped, for that was my only means of holding H back.

He noticed. _Ha ha! _My legs were raising me again, this time, throwing me into and through the bathroom door and tumbling into my dorm. Spitting out carpet threads I had accidentally torn out with my sharpening teeth, I deliriously noticed H standing me back up and twirling to face the exit door. I had to act quickly.

_Oh no you don't!_

_Huh!_

With a heel kick backward, I stumbled into the wardrobe, banging my head on it. The impact opened it wide, all of my clothes spilling out and littering the ground. I grunted and lifted my hand to caress the forming bruise, not knowing that my inner evil had gained control of both my arms.

He snatched hold of the dresser, turning and launching it across my dorm with a fearsome bellow. The thing smashed into the wall above my bed, boring a hole in it, insulation, sheetrock and all. I could spot the couple making out in the neighboring room through the gaping pit, both of them immediately screaming in terror. H curled my fingers into malevolent claws and roared at the two through my voice, resulting in the romantically embracing pair to high-tail it out of their dorm in a frenzy.

_This has gone on long enough! From now on, I am in control!_

And that was when I was locked inside my own mind, unable to move my vulnerable body.

"Finally. Conquest," H hissed.

_No! You can't do this!_

"On the contrary," he said. "I already have."

_H!_

I watched helplessly through my eyes him take us out of my dorm and into the frigid halls, instantly taking off running with an extra speed boost from my rocket shoes. He kept quiet as the wind blew through his hair, an ominous grin forming on his face.

Rapidly passing door after door, and sliding through hall after hall, H managed to escape the Artemis building unseen and unscathed. Zipping up the towering wooden gates, he landed softly on the springy grass and took a long look at the twinkling stars in the broad sky overhead. Breathing in the cool night air, he sighed with content and began walking with pleasure across the lawn.

_Where are you taking us?_

He again ignored me. As usual. I felt worry, but didn't try to rebel against him. He was much stronger than I was, now. I curled into a corner of my mind, hopeless.

What was the point?

**Dun, dun, dun!**

**Driving you crazy? ME TOO! (Edited! Wa-ha! I made some changes. Hope you like 'em.)**


End file.
